The job search site Work.ua presented a study of the salaries of Ukrainians during the war. 600 employers and 20,000 employees working in the most common positions took part in the survey.

Impact of the war on the labor market: 30% of respondents lost their jobs

The coronavirus epidemic and the war affected the number of respondents who work remotely (16%) or in a hybrid format (22%). However, due to the specifics of the position, 62% of respondents work in an office, store, pharmacy, etc. Almost 18% of survey participants changed their city or country of residence because of the war.

The negative impact of the war was felt by 30% of respondents who were downsized or laid off (19%), or the company itself closed (11%). But the majority of employers kept their employees’ jobs:

33% of respondents answered that the company initially suspended its activities, but then employees returned to work;
27% of respondents said that the war had no effect on their employment.

Portrait of a modern worker: the higher the education, the higher the salary

The vast majority of staff — 93% — work in Ukrainian business. Moreover, two-thirds of employers are companies with a history of more than 10 years.

Ukrainian workers are educated people. Most respondents have higher education:

66% graduated from institutes, academies, universities;
25% have vocational and technical education;
9% have secondary education and studied in schools, lyceums and gymnasiums.

In general, there is a relationship between education and salary. For example, sales consultants with higher education earn higher salaries.

The graph shows the salary of sales consultants depending on the type of education. The bars in the chart represent the median salary.

Almost half of the respondents studied English and speak it at an elementary level or higher. A little more than 6% of them know the language at a high level:

Beginner — 32%;
Did not study – 23%;
Elementary (elementary) — 22%;
Intermediate — 16%;
Upper-Intermediate (above average) — 5%;
Advanced (advanced) — 1%;
Proficient (perfect command of the language) — 0.3%.

At the same time, the level of salary can be directly related to knowledge of the language, because it allows the specialist to work with foreign clients. The relationship between the salary level and the level of English proficiency is illustrated below using the example of sales managers/customer service managers.

Sales managers with Proficient and Advanced English levels have the highest salaries. To get more, you need to master the language perfectly or at an advanced level. All other levels do not give significant advantages.

The bars in the graphs represent the median salary.

Salaries through the eyes of employees: in a quarter of respondents, the salary has not changed

To the question “How did the war affect your salary?” a quarter of respondents said that the salary did not change, and 16% said that it decreased slightly. At the same time, 3% of respondents saw a salary increase. Among the negative consequences of the war are the reduction of employees (19%) and a significant reduction in wages (36%).

It is noteworthy that almost a tenth of the companies tied salaries to the exchange rate of foreign currency, the rest continue to pay salaries in hryvnia regardless of exchange rate fluctuations.

The majority of employees (65%) do not receive bonuses for their work. For the rest of the employees, the most popular type of bonus is up to 20% of the salary (this is 16% of respondents).

The majority of respondents (71%) reported that they are officially registered and work according to the employment book. 5% of employees are registered as sole proprietors, 1% of employees are employed by civil or employment contract. 22% of respondents do not have official employment.