Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Proportion of women among unemployed in Ukraine rose to 81% during war

22 June , 2026  

During the war, the proportion of women among the unemployed rose to 81%, Stanislav Pavlenko, deputy director of the State Employment Center (SEC), said in comments to the “Interfax-Ukraine” news agency on Monday.

“While women accounted for 55% of the unemployed before the start of the full-scale war, today that proportion has risen to 81%,” Pavlenko said.

He also added that a pilot program has been in effect since 2025, allowing Ukrainian women to learn trades in fields traditionally considered male-dominated.

“Under the program’s terms, training is provided in 31 professions. A mandatory condition is that women must be employed upon completion of their training,” Pavlenko said.

Since the beginning of the year, 402 women have been enrolled in such training as part of the project.

At the same time, Pavlenko noted that “in Ukraine, data on the unemployment rate is calculated by the State Statistics Service of Ukraine based on labor force surveys.” However, starting in 2022, the results of these surveys have not been published by the statistics agency.

“According to the latest published data, in 2021 the unemployment rate (based on the methodology of the International Labor Organization) among the population aged 15–70 stood at 9.9% of the labor force,” said the official from the State Employment Service.

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