The year 2024 started dynamically: the labor market saw an increase in the number of job seekers, which led to increased competition. Employers responded by increasing salaries and requirements for candidates. Find out what else has changed in the labor market in the Work.ua study.
What the January statistics tell us
Starting a new life with the new year seems to be the strategy followed by job seekers in the labor market in January 2024. After all, competition for vacancies has increased significantly after the traditional New Year’s Eve drop. Employers, on the other hand, are not yet as active – the number of job offers on the market is lower than last month. However, both trends are normal seasonal phenomena.
In January, the upward trend in wages continued. The average salary in Ukraine is now UAH 19,500. However, along with remuneration, the requirements for job seekers are also growing – employers are increasingly mentioning expectations for English language skills in their job postings.
The labor market has recovered by 93%.
In January 2024, according to Work.ua, employers published 91,021 vacancies. This is 6% less than in December 2023 and 7% less than in January 2022. This means that the labor market has now recovered by 93% in terms of the number of job offers. But, as before, this recovery is uneven.
Compared to pre-war figures, the number of vacancies has increased the most in the following regions: Zakarpattia (155%), Ivano-Frankivsk (146%), Khmelnytsky (125%), Lviv (123%), Vinnytsia (120%), Rivne (118%), and Chernivtsi (116%).
The leading regions in terms of the absolute number of job offers remain unchanged: Kyiv (30,913 vacancies), Lviv (8,473), Dnipropetrovs’k (8,452), Odesa (5,752), and Kharkiv (3,347). These regions account for 63% of all vacancies.
English language skills are required in almost every tenth vacancy
In December, the number of job offers decreased in all leading categories:
“Working specialties, production” – 14,923 vacancies, -14% compared to December;
“Service sector” – 14 674, -13%;
“Sales, purchasing” – 13,090, -1%;
“Retail trade – 10,809, -11%;
“Logistics, warehouse, foreign trade – 9,096, -10%;
“Administration, middle management – 8,340, -2%;
“Hotel and restaurant business, tourism” – 7,591, -16%;
“Transportation, automobile business – 7,214, -3%;
“Accounting, audit – 6,752, -2%;
“Medicine, pharmaceuticals – 6,326, -2%.
But in 7 categories, on the contrary, the number of jobs increased. The largest increase is seen in the category “Security, safety”, where vacancies are posted by the Defense Forces of Ukraine. You can learn more about them at work.ua/zsu/.
In terms of individual professions, the demand for the following specialists increased in January:
● Estimator (+21% compared to December, 138 vacancies)
● Correctional teacher (+20%, 147)
● Press secretary (+20%, 139)
● Service engineer (+20%, 324);
● massage therapist (+18%, 267)
● Financial analyst (+16%, 342);
● Turner (+16%, 200);
● graphic designer (+15%, 188);
● Florist (15%, 267);
● Project manager (+15%, 651).
In absolute terms, the labor market has the most job offers for sales consultants, sales managers, accountants, drivers, cashiers, cooks, loaders, account managers, administrators, sales representatives, and storekeepers.
The January drop in the number of vacancies affected almost all types of jobs. For example, the number of remote work offers decreased, and there were fewer vacancies for students and people without experience. Instead, employers are increasingly indicating that their vacancies are open to veterans (+6% compared to December, 6,194 job offers) and pensioners (+1%, 4,033).
Compared to December, the requirement for English language skills appears in job postings much more often. In January, this requirement was found in 7,990 vacancies, which is 19% more than in the previous month. In total, 9% of job offers require knowledge of English.
One third of job seekers want to work in Kyiv region or remotely
In January, job seekers updated or created 350,858 resumes on Work.ua. One third of all resumes indicated Kyiv region or remote employment as their preferred region of work.
Compared to December, the number of resumes increased by 24%. Obviously, job seekers have taken the idea of “new year, new job” seriously. So now employers have a better chance of finding qualified specialists. The increase in the number of candidates has also affected competition – it has increased by 42% compared to December.
In December, employers in Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Volyn, Lviv, and Kharkiv regions received the largest number of responses to their vacancies. The most difficult situation with candidate responses was in Kherson, Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi, Cherkasy, Mykolaiv, and Chernihiv regions.
In January, the competition for remote work was 5 times higher than average: Ukrainians continue to want to work online the most. The number of responses from candidates for the most competitive remote positions increased several times more. These positions include front-end developer, coder, web designer, tester, Android programmer, video editor, Python programmer, and Java programmer.
The most difficult to find are blue-collar professionals and doctors. The list of positions with the lowest competition in January included a diesel locomotive driver, train assembler, stone processing specialist, miner, oncologist, endocrinologist, otorhinolaryngologist, gastroenterologist, and hirudotherapist.
On Work.ua, not only do candidates submit resumes, but employers can also offer job openings to job seekers. In terms of the ratio of the number of offers to the number of vacancies, the most active employers were those looking for housewives, realtors, police officers, contact center operators, development managers, sales managers, customer service managers, English teachers, sales consultants, and promoters.
The number of women in the labor market is growing
In January, job seekers updated or created 350,858 resumes on Work.ua. Among them, 60% are women and 40% are men. Compared to previous months, the share of women in the labor market has increased. However, there were no significant changes in the distribution of job seekers by age and work experience.
In January, the number of candidates for the following professions increased: embroiderer (+107% compared to December), SMM specialist (+99%), molder (+72%), insurance agent (+68%), office manager (+68%), nutritionist (+67%), tour guide (+67%), draftsman (+66%), psychiatrist (+66%), and event manager (+64%).
Vacancies in the Defense Forces are among the leaders in terms of salaries
The trend towards a gradual increase in wages, which began in 2023, continues. In January, the average salary increased by 3% to UAH 19,500. Among the leading regions, wages increased in Kyiv (+150 UAH to UAH 21,000), Lviv (+230 UAH to UAH 19,230), Odesa (+500 UAH to UAH 18,500), and Dnipro (+500 UAH to UAH 18,500). In Kharkiv region, however, the salary did not increase again and has remained at UAH 17,500 for the third month in a row.
In January, salaries of employees in some categories also increased:
● Insurance – UAH 22,000, +10% compared to December;
● Security and safety – UAH 17,500, +6%;
Agriculture, agribusiness – 21,000, +5%;
Real estate – 36,500, +4%;
Retail trade – 16,000, +3%.
In the ranking of positions with the highest salaries (except for executives and IT), we see positions of specialists for the Ukrainian Defense Forces: drone pilot, rifleman, grenade launcher, mortar operator (over UAH 70,000). To join the ranks of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, please apply for the vacancies posted at work.ua/zsu/.
Among civilian professions (except for executives and IT), the highest salaries in December were as follows:
● 47,500 UAH – media buyer
UAH 45,000 – international driver
UAH 42,500 – ceramist;
UAH 40,000 – a straightener;
● 37,500 UAH – endodontist, supermarket manager, realtor;
● UAH 36,250 – dental technician.
