Ukraine will need almost 15 million workers in 10 years — which sectors expect the biggest shortages

As previously reported by the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper", on July 21, hearings were held in the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Social Policy and Veterans' Rights Protection on the topic: "The Ukrainian labor market under pressure: attracting foreign labor, protecting Ukrainian workers, and state control over migration processes."

Currently, Ukraine faces a large-scale shortage of workers, but attracting foreigners cannot automatically be considered a solution to the staff shortage. The Ministry of Economy emphasizes the need to primarily activate internal labor resources. At the same time, the state must create a unified system for foreign workers that will allow tracking the entire path of a person—from obtaining a work permit to the actual start of work and termination of employment relations.

Ukraine may need almost 15 million employed people by 2036

According to the Ministry of Economy, about 25.9 million people live in the territory controlled by Ukraine. Among them, approximately 13.1 million are employed, 7.2 million are aged 65 and older, and 5.1 million are children.

At the same time, the Ministry of Economy’s forecast for 2026–2036, prepared jointly with BMG company, predicts an increase in the economy’s need for workers to approximately 14.6 million employed persons by 2036.

The largest shortages are expected in technical, engineering, manufacturing, and construction professions, as well as in medicine, trade, and service sectors.

However, the Ministry of Economy stresses that this does not mean the predicted shortage should automatically be filled by foreigners. The state must first utilize internal potential—through retraining, employment stimulation, and social support for people currently facing barriers to entering the labor market.

Over 9,500 permits issued in 2025, but thousands were revoked

According to the State Employment Service, in 2021, 21,780 permits for employing foreigners were issued and extended. After the start of the full-scale invasion, this figure sharply decreased: in 2023, about 4,500 permits were issued and extended.

In 2025, the number increased to 9,582, of which 7,483 were new permits.

However, an issued permit does not mean that the foreigner actually arrived in Ukraine and started working.

In 2025, about 3,300 permits were revoked. Reasons included the employer’s failure to submit a signed employment contract, termination of employment relations, and non-payment of the single social contribution.

This statistic highlights one of the problems of the current system: an issued permit does not automatically mean the actual arrival and employment of the foreigner. At the same time, information about the worker’s further path is distributed among various state bodies, creating a need for a unified control and data exchange system.

Almost 40% of permits are issued in Kyiv

Foreign workers are unevenly distributed across regions.

In 2025, 95 permits were issued in Dnipropetrovsk region, 60 in Kharkiv, 11 in Donetsk, 8 in Zaporizhzhia, and 1 in Kherson.

The most permits are traditionally issued in Kyiv—almost 40% of the total number. Among other regions with the highest number of permits were Kyiv region, Lviv, and Odesa regions.

During the hearings, special emphasis was placed on the need to consider the territorial aspect: it is important to understand whether foreign workers can cover the labor shortage precisely in those regions and communities where it is the greatest.

Most permits are granted to citizens of India and Turkey

In 2025, the most work permits were issued to citizens of India—1,023 permits.

Turkey was second with 662 permits. Other countries whose citizens frequently received permits included Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan.

Previously, Turkey was the traditional leader in the number of attracted workers.

The Ministry of Economy wants to see the entire path of a foreign worker

One of the main problems is the lack of a full-fledged unified tracking system.

Currently, procedures for attracting foreigners are distributed among several bodies. Participants of the hearings emphasized the need for a system that would allow seeing what happens to a foreigner after obtaining a permit:

• whether they arrived in Ukraine;
• whether they signed an employment contract;
• whether they are actually working;
• whether employment relations have ended;
• whether they have legal grounds for further stay in Ukraine.

The Deputy Minister of Economy named digitization of procedures and creation of a tracking system as one of the key directions of work. In particular, a financial mechanism is being discussed that could provide funds for searching and returning a foreigner if, after arriving in Ukraine, they effectively disappear and the employer ceases interaction with state bodies.

The Ministry of Economy also talks about moving to targeted attraction of foreigners.

This involves defining:

• priority specialties;
• categories of specialists needed by the Ukrainian economy;
• countries from which it is advisable to attract labor migrants;
• criteria for safety and integration.

According to the Ministry of Economy representative, creating the regulatory framework and basic infrastructure for such a system will take approximately one year.

At the same time, priority should be given to attracting Ukrainians—veterans, internally displaced persons, women, older people, and people with disabilities. Only if the internal labor potential does not allow meeting a specific need should foreign workers be attracted.

Foreign students and foreign veterans

During the hearings, foreign students were discussed separately. Before the full-scale invasion, about 80–120 thousand foreigners studied in Ukrainian higher education institutions. Currently, their number, according to the data provided, is less than 20 thousand.

The Ministry of Economy believes that foreign students can become one of the channels for attracting specialists. A person who studied in Ukraine for several years, adapted to the Ukrainian environment, and potentially learned the language may be better prepared to work in Ukraine.

Participants also raised the issue of foreigners who fought for Ukraine. In particular, it was proposed to simplify procedures for such servicemen after demobilization, extend the period required for document processing from three to six months, and also consider the issues of their families.

Thus, the main question discussed during the hearings is not only how many foreigners Ukraine can attract. It is about whether the state can control this process after issuing permits, determine which specialists it needs, and simultaneously use its own labor potential.

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