Despite pandemic, some Ukrainians keep seeking jobs abroad

Almost 62,000 were employed in other countries in the first nine months of 2020, as reported by the State Employment Center.

This year, most Ukrainians were officially employed in Cyprus (12,300), Poland (4,700), Liberia (1,900), Panama (1,800), Marshall Islands (1,800), and Belgium (1,600), the agency noted, according to RFE/RL.

Only 88 people were officially employed in Russia over the said period.

The State Employment Center reported that until the second half of 2019, the corresponding reporting was submitted once a year, so there is no quarterly data that would allow comparing the indicators on year. However, there is information on the second half of 2019 when 63,600 Ukrainians were registered by employment agencies abroad, of whom 79 left to work in Russia.

Read alsoNumber of unemployed grows by 159,000 on yearThe largest flows of labor migration in 2019 were seen to Poland (14,200), Cyprus (10,700), Germany (5,000), UK (4,300), Greece (4,000), the Czech Republic (3,300), and the Marshall Islands (2,800).

Unemployment in Ukraine

The unemployment rate in Ukraine in January-March 2020 compared with the 4th quarter of 2019 decreased by 0.1 percentage points – from 8.7% to 8.6%, which in absolute terms is 1.5 million people...

According to the macroeconomic forecast drawn by the Cabinet of Ministers for the next three years, the unemployment rate for the population aged 15 to 70 is projected at 9.2% in 2021, 8.5% in 2022, and 8% in 2023.

Unemployment rate in the second quarter of 2020 against the first quarter was up 1.3 percentage points – from 8.6% to 9.9% (1.7 million people).