As of June 1, 2025, Ukraine has officially registered 94,267 unemployed people. The largest numbers are in Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Poltava regions. But alongside this figure exists another: as of March 31, 2025, employers published 221,000 job vacancies. Two numbers that together describe not just a labor market — but its structural breakdown.
A shortage invisible in unemployment statistics
There is a greatest shortage of skilled workers and doctors of various specializations. Among specific positions — drivers (11,000 vacancies), locksmiths (5,000), electricians (2,000), doctors (4,000), accountants (7,000), and engineers (6,000).
Oleksiy Miroshnichenko, President of the Confederation of Employers of Ukraine, stated that the personnel shortage situation has essentially remained unchanged for more than two years. According to the NBU, this shortage fuels wage growth, but unemployment still remains higher than before the full-scale invasion.
Among unconventional methods of overcoming the crisis — involving women in traditionally "male" professions: trolleybus drivers, tram drivers, long-haul drivers. According to official employment service data, in 2025, tens of thousands of women began working in such positions.
Who is entitled to benefits — and how much is it really
Not everyone can obtain unemployed status and corresponding payments. The right to material support is granted to unemployed insured persons who have insurance experience, as well as young people after completing studies or military service.
In 2025, benefits can be received only if the insurance experience during the 12 months before registration is at least 7 months. Key payment parameters:
- The maximum unemployment benefit in 2025 is 8,000 UAH per month (in 2024 it was 7,100 UAH).
- The minimum amount is 1,500 UAH.
- Total payment duration is 360 calendar days, for people of pre-retirement age — 720 days.
The amount depends on insurance experience and previous salary; payment decreases over time — higher percentage in the first months, then lower.
How to register
Unemployed status is granted from the first day of registration. You can submit an application:
- in person — at the nearest employment center;
- online — through the "Diia" portal or the website of the State Employment Service.
You will need: a passport, a work book, a certificate of average salary. The State Employment Service hotline receives approximately 300 calls per week — and the most popular questions concern the conditions of benefit payments.
"The right to material support is granted to unemployed insured persons — temporarily non-working individuals who have insurance experience"
Stanislav Pavlenko, Deputy Director of the State Employment Center
A paradox that won't resolve itself
Personnel shortage has become one of Ukraine's key economic problems: despite hundreds of thousands of open vacancies, business cannot fill even basic positions, which directly hinders economic recovery.
Most registered unemployed either lack the required qualifications or live where there are no jobs. The state has launched adult retraining programs and initiatives to attract economically inactive people — but the scale of the problem clearly exceeds the scale of the response.
If retraining programs fail to deliver measurable results by the end of 2025, 221,000 unfilled vacancies will become a permanent structural feature of the wartime economy — rather than a temporary imbalance.
