In Ukraine, only 13 million people out of 31 million of the de facto population are working, – Ministry of Economy

In Ukraine, only 13 million people out of 31 million of the de facto population are working, – Ministry of Economy

Currently, on the territory controlled by Ukraine, approximately 31 million people reside, of which about 13 million work, and only 10.5 million pay the single social contribution.

About this, Minister of Economy, Ecology and Agriculture Oleksiy Sobolyev reported during the forum «Labor Market for the Economy of the Future: Updating Ukraine’s Labor Legislation».

In addition, according to Sobolyev, about 2.3 million people with disabilities are excluded from the labor market, and another 800 thousand people under 60 years of age who receive pensions do not work.

Also, a significant number of women and youth face barr’iers during employment.

Adoption of the Labor Code

In this context, Sobolyev stated that the new Labor Code of Ukraine should consolidate modern rules in the labor market, provide clear guarantees to employees, ensure predictability for employers, make work more accessible, and labor relations — more predictable.

«That is, in reality, significantly fewer people are employed in the labor market than our economy needs. Therefore, the new code is needed not as a formal reform or just an update of rules. It should make work more accessible, legal, predictable, and convenient», — emphasized Sobolyev.

What are the expectations

With the adoption of the new labor legislation, the government expects the creation of 302 thousand new official or formalized jobs, and the net fiscal effect from the reform will amount to 43.4 billion UAH annually.

In addition, the transition to employment contracts instead of labor books will allow businesses to save 5.3 billion UAH, and the introduction of electronic document management will bring 226 million UAH in direct administrative savings.

«For employees, an increase in annual paid leave by 4 days is planned, official rights to remote, home-based, seasonal, or domestic work, flexible schedules — all this will be legislatively regulated. Employers will receive more legal forms of employment tailored to their needs. This is important because legal uncertainty harms both employees and employers, leading to labor disputes and court proceedings», — added Sobolyev.

Among other things, the developers of the new Labor Code propose changing the approach to the minimum wage by linking it to the average wage in the economy.

The adoption of new labor legislation is a key element of Ukraine’s European integration path — the code project implements European and international labor standards.