---
title: "Manpower crisis in Ukraine: why businesses are reluctant to hire foreigners"
description: "Labor shortage in Ukraine has reached a peak: 78% of companies cannot find employees, but only 8% are ready to hire foreigners. 📉 Business fears language barriers and bureaucracy, preferring to raise salaries. 🔍"
date: 2026-07-20T03:46:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ukraine-labor-shortage-foreign-workers-reluctance-en
tags: [ukraine, olx-rabota, labor-market, maria-abdullina]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Manpower crisis in Ukraine: why businesses are reluctant to hire foreigners

![Businessmen discussing documents in an office, illustrating the staffing crisis in Ukraine and the challenges of hiring foreigners](https://xab.info/media/2026/07/20/ukraine-labor-shortage-foreign-workers-reluctance/ukraine-labor-shortage-foreign-workers-reluctance-1.webp)

The Ukrainian labor market is in a state of deep crisis. Despite an acute personnel shortage felt by almost all companies, businesses are not rushing to find a solution by attracting foreign specialists. Instead, employers continue to look for internal reserves, fearing difficulties with integration and adaptation.

### Growing shortage and business pessimism

The situation with personnel in the country is deteriorating rapidly. According to the results of a recent survey conducted by the OLX Work service, in 2026, 78% of employers reported a lack of employees. For comparison, only 60% of companies faced this problem a year ago. This indicates that the labor shortage is becoming a systemic problem for the Ukrainian economy.

Moods in the business community are extremely pessimistic. The majority of respondents — 68% — are convinced that the situation will only worsen over the next year. Only 10% of company executives expect the labor market to gradually begin to recover.

### Why are foreigners not a priority?

It would seem that a logical solution to the problem of labor shortage would be to open borders for labor migrants. However, statistics say the opposite. Only 8% of employers are ready to consider the employment of foreigners as a way to solve the personnel shortage. Notably, a year ago there were more such companies — 13%. Business does not yet perceive the international labor market as a mass source of labor.

Experts note that over the past year, the emphasis in employers' arguments has shifted. If general concerns prevailed before, now specific practical difficulties are coming to the fore:

- Difficulties with the language adaptation of employees;

- Lengthy and bureaucratic legal procedures for registration;

- Cultural differences and features of mentality.

### Fear of job seekers and state priorities

Tension in the labor market is felt not only by employers but also by Ukrainians themselves. Surveys show that 56% of candidates fear that in the event of a massive influx of foreigners, their interests may take a back seat. Moreover, almost half of the respondents (46%) see the problem in the language barrier, and 41% — in cultural and religious differences.

Maria Abdulina, Head of the OLX Work department, notes that the issue of attracting foreign specialists is gradually moving from the theoretical plane to the practical one. However, it is necessary to create clear adaptation mechanisms and simplify employment procedures. At the same time, she emphasized that the main priority for Ukraine should remain the return and employment of its own citizens who are currently abroad.

### How business fights the labor shortage

While foreign specialists remain on the periphery of attention, companies are forced to find other ways to retain and attract personnel. The main methods of fighting the labor shortage include:

- Increasing wages;

- Simplifying requirements for candidates;

- Investments in employee training and development;

- Expanding the geography of worker search.

Separately, it is worth noting the trend of "booking" workers. The number of vacancies with the possibility of booking an employee has increased significantly. Most often, such offers appear in the fields of critical infrastructure, logistics, production, and construction. Over the year, the median salary in such vacancies has risen to 35 thousand hryvnias, which indicates high competition for qualified personnel.