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15.04.22

Changes in the Ukrainian labor market during the war

At the beginning of the war, almost the entire IT industry froze in shock and anticipation. In the very first days, Ukrainian IT specialists began to join the army and Territorial Defense Forces, organize the delivery of ammunition and humanitarian aid, raise funds for food and medicine for people in hot spots, and evacuate animals.

Many companies that have offices or employees in Ukraine have suspended hiring and focused on helping their teams: they have organized relocation to the west of Ukraine or abroad, and continue to keep places of mobilized employees. They also pay full salary, regardless of the number of hours worked and tasks completed.

What do companies do during the war to support employees:

  1. Pay salaries in advance so that teams feel stable and secure. That's what we did in the VP Team.

  2. Provide additional financial assistance. For example, +$1000 to salary at Doxy.me. Micro Focus paid out $1500 for relocation and double salary immediately after February 24th. GlobalLogic provided an additional $2000 in UAH to all employees.

  3. Keep jobs and salaries for everyone who joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine or the Territorial Defense Forces. For example, Boosta, AgileEngine, Itera. Exoft also takes care of employees who help by volunteering.

  4. Pay for relocation and housing in western Ukraine. Gemicle compensate $1500 for relocation, Itera – $1000.

  5. Pay for the psychological help.

  6. Give their employees the opportunity to work on a flexible schedule.

  7. Some international companies that have offices in russia and belarus are actively working to get their business out of the aggressor countries: EPAM, Andersen Lab, Netcracker, JetBrains.

Unfortunately, not all organizations can save jobs for employees and pay salaries. Some companies closed or sent employees on long-term unpaid leave, so there are currently significantly fewer offers in IT.

According to DOU.ua statistics, the number of open vacancies in March 2022 was 45.3% of those published in January and 58.7% of those published in February.

At the same time, there were more offers of remote work and relocation.

Djinni.co launched a website section for jobs in Europe. According to their report, since the beginning of hostilities in Ukraine, the market has fallen by 50%.

According to the statistics of the rabota.ua portal, now companies place 10000-11000 positions – in pre-war times this figure reached 100000. Most of the open vacancies are in Lviv (29%).

We at VP Team regularly make a digest of candidates in the search and publish profiles of specialists on the company's page.

What do companies do during the war to support Ukraine:

  • Organize shelters in their offices.
  • Assistance funds are organized, for example, by Massive.
  • Collect money in support of the army and public organizations and foundations.
  • Spread information about the war.
  • Provide Ukrainians with discounts on their products or a certain period of free use, like MacPaw, MixMax, Grammarly.
  • Provide free training in their specialization for everyone to help learn a new profession or enter international markets.
  • Give all media workers who cover the war a year of free use of their products – for example, MacPaw.
  • Do not switch to a preferential tax regime in order to pay more taxes to support Ukraine.
  • Leave the russian market, refuse clients from russia and belarus, close offices in the aggressor country and take out employees.
  • Stop selling and distributing their products in russia and belarus.
  • Help to reveal the hidden assets of  russia and belarus citizens: for example, YouControl launched the RuAssets platform.
  • Volunteer.

How will the market change?

  • The labor market becomes the employer's market. In IT, this trend is less noticeable, but some companies have closed or suspended hiring. Many specialists have entered the market, but the number of vacancies for them has decreased.

  • More and more offers appear for Ukrainians abroad. There is a growing number of companies willing to pay for relocation and visas for Ukrainians:

  • Companies are reorienting themselves to the Ukrainian and international markets.

  • Significantly increased the number of vacancies and registered sole proprietors in Lviv.

  • Many specialists forced to leave the country will remain to live in a new place.

  • It is important for people to learn new professions, especially those that allow remote work.

  • The number of Junior  vacancies has decreased by 80%.

  • Hiring is increasingly dependent on the political situation: potential candidates check the reputation, statements and actions of the company during the war, the company's connections with aggressor countries, and are very careful in choosing an employer. In our opinion, Ukrainians will continue this approach to hiring for a few more years.