Ukraine

At the beginning of the year, many companies conducted planned reviews of white-collar salaries. However, companies that were scheduled to undergo the review in March-April 2020 were forced to keep their wages at the level of the end of 2019 due to the quarantine and subsequent financial instability. The desire for employees to improve their financial situation continues to be the most common motivator for changing jobs.

Blue-collar salaries have increased by 10-15% compared to the previous year. The main reason was the growth of inflation in the country and increase of the minimum wage.

In the logistics sector, the following specialists are in demand: transport logistics specialists with a knowledge of foreign language (English) and supply planners. In the production sector, the most sought after positions are: technical personnel (unskilled and experienced production operators, forklift operators, electricians, mechanics), project managers (modernization of production lines, introduction of Lean Production projects) production shift chiefs, occupational health and safety engineers with onsite experience and production planners.

Knowledge of a foreign language (in particular, English) is becoming compulsory for a number of vacancies. There is also demand for management-level staff, who are able to find non-standard solutions to business problems, especially in the area of non-material staff motivation.

At the beginning of the quarantine (March 2020), the labour market frozeand no one was in a hurry to change jobs or hire new employees. Some industries had to send workers on vacation and many people had to return from work in EU countries.

The demand for employees in logistics companies increased sharply due to the growth of online orders. Couriers and drivers were especially in higher demand. Strategic manufacturing enterprises (FMCG sector and raw materials) continued to operate as usual.

Currently, the market is stabilizing with international manufacturing companies, large and medium-sized local companies continuing to work. Small-scale industries were forced to cut staff or even suspend their activities. Producers of goods for export have also been hit hard since their performance is closely tied to the political and economic situation of the importing countries.

The eastern and central regions are characterized by the highest availability of white-collar workers, while they are less typical for Vinnytsia, Khmelnytsky, Kherson and Nikolaev regions. Blue-collar workers are more highly available in the Kyiv, Kharkov, Dnipro and Odessa regions. The lowest level of blue-collar availability is observed in the Cherkasy, Sumy, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lutsk regions.

It is currently difficult to predict the situation for white-collar workers. as many companies have stopped hiring new employees until the end of 2020. All major reductions, in a number of companies, have already taken place or are currently in progress. As for blue-collar employees, a shortage of personnel is expected in the production sector due to the fact that there is an opportunity to travel to Germany, Lithuania and Estonia for higher wages.

Payments in Ukraine