The main problem in Ukraine’s labor market is a labor shortage; at the same time, between 3.5 and 5 million people of working age are excluded from the labor market, said Daria Marchak, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture, during the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2026) in Gdańsk (Poland) on Friday.
“Currently, three-quarters of businesses in Ukraine are facing a shortage of workers and are closing down precisely because of this labor shortage. But we have somewhere between 3.5 and 5 million people of working age who are excluded from the labor market for various reasons,” Marchak emphasized.
According to her, this group includes people with disabilities, including veterans, as well as internally displaced persons and women.
In this regard, the deputy minister considers the main task to be “doing everything possible to ensure that these people gain access to the labor market and overcome all obstacles.” To this end, she proposes a comprehensive overhaul of training systems and competency standards, as well as providing relevant retraining opportunities to anyone who wishes to participate.
