The labor shortage in Ukraine continues to worsen, but employers are not yet ready to hire foreign workers on a large scale. According to a study by OLX Jobs Division, most companies expect the labor market situation to deteriorate further, but prefer to seek alternative solutions to the staffing crisis, as reported by Dengi.ua, citing RBC-Ukraine.
The Labor Shortage is Becoming more Acute
According to the study, 78% of employers reported a labor shortage in 2026, whereas a year earlier, 60% of companies had noted this problem.
In addition, businesses have become significantly less optimistic about the labor market outlook. Specifically, 68% of respondents believe that the labor shortage will only intensify in the coming year. Only 10% expect the situation to gradually improve.
Why Companies Are Reluctant to Hire Foreign Workers
Despite the labor shortage, only 8% of employers are willing to consider foreign specialists as a solution to the problem. By comparison, a year ago, 13% of companies held this view.
According to OLX Jobs, employers do not yet view the international labor market as a major source of talent.
Companies cite the following as the main obstacles to hiring foreign workers:
- the language barrier - 51%;
- no need for foreign workers in their industry - 42%;
- complex legal and administrative procedures for processing paperwork - 32%;
- lack of experience working with foreign specialists and cultural differences - 28% each;
- the team’s reluctance - 19%;
- lack of understanding of where to find such candidates - 14%.
Researchers note that over the past year, employers have begun to mention the practical challenges of integrating foreign workers—language adaptation, paperwork, and cultural differences—much more frequently.
What Ukrainians Themselves Think
Similar sentiments are observed among job seekers.
For example, 56% of Ukrainians fear that bringing in foreign workers could cause the interests of domestic workers to take a back seat.
Another 46% of respondents see the language barrier as a potential problem, while 41% point to cultural and religious differences.
What Could Change the Business Community’s Stance
At the same time, employers do not rule out the possibility that they may reconsider their stance on hiring foreigners in the future.
They cite the following as the most important conditions for this:
- tax breaks or financial incentives - 36%;
- a further worsening of the shortage of Ukrainian workers - 36%;
- guarantees of foreign specialists’ qualifications - 29%;
- simplification of the hiring process;
- government recruitment programs and the successful experience of other companies - 22%.
Maria Abdullina, Head of the OLX Jobs Division, noted that the issue of attracting foreign specialists is gradually moving from the theoretical to the practical realm. According to her, this requires simplifying hiring procedures and creating clear mechanisms for the integration of workers from other countries.
At the same time, she emphasized that the top priority for Ukraine remains the return and employment of Ukrainians who are currently abroad.
