Kulish K. A., PhD Fedotova T. A., Lobanova V. V.
Oles Honchar Dnipropetrovsk National University
MODERN TRENDS IN LABOR MARKET OF UKRAINE
The labor market in Ukraine is a complex system that is constantly evolving and improving. The situation on the national labor market has been formed under the influence of positive dynamics of macroeconomic indicators, which is the result of the consistent implementation measures of state regulation of employment.
However, the current state of the labor market is characterized by a number of issues that are a barrier to normal socio-economic development of the country and its individual regions. This is primarily the lack of jobs and a high proportion of jobs where working conditions are dangerous, the unequal distribution of labor resources in the state and deformation in the industrial structure and professional qualification stock.
However, despite all the problems in recent years, there are some positive changes and one of them is the increase of wages: in January-September 2012 average nominal wage per full-time employee was 2544.16 UAN, which compared with January-September 2011 increased by 15.6% [1].
One of the trends in 2012 was the increase in demand for skilled workers. Companies invested in creation of their HR- Brands, they implemented new methods of non-material motivation, contributed into the training and development of personnel, as well as focused on retention of experts, which was confirmed by the significant number of counteroffers from employers to their employees who were going to change jobs. In 2012, the companies invested in their staff, and we expect this trend to continue in 2013.
2012 didn’t bring neither mass layoffs nor reduction of the number of vacancies. We didn’t witness substantial increase in salaries: the average salary increased at about 5-10%, and we expect that in 2013, salaries will grow up with approximately the same speed [2].
Due to rapid development of information and communication technologies, IT specialists remain traditionally in demand. There are offers for support service workers, software developers (2/3 of vacancies) and technical directors. Salaries remain at the level of 2012: UAH 5000 for support service workers, UAH 16-18 thousand for Java-programmers, up to UAH 24 thousand for senior programmers and starting from UAH 20 thousand for technical directors.
Bankers also remain in demand, both in Kyiv and in regions. Credit managers are offered a salary starting from UAH 3000, department chief – up to UAH 6000 and banking service managers – starting from UAH 2000. There is also demand for young workers without experience – apprentice, copywriters, and secretaries [4].
The highest wages in 2012 was registered in air transport employees and financial institutions. Their salary was 2-3 times higher than the average level in economy [3]. During 2012 the amount of wage areas began to decrease. The total debt decreased in 2012 to 252.3 million. The problem of unemployment remains also very serious. In January 2013 the unemployment rate rose to 1.8%. 01.01.2013, the State Employment Service registered 564.5 thousand unemployed, while in January 2012 – 520.9 thousand [1].
Taking everything into account, we can say that the problems in the labor market do exist, but there are positive signs. Therefore, the first priority for the government of Ukraine is to develop a national employment policy that would contribute to the quality of the national workforce, overcoming regional disparities in the labor market would be significantly enhanced the demand for labor.
The list of references:
1. Державний комітет статистики України [Web resource]. – Access mode: http://www.ukrstat.gov.ua.
2. Праця України у 2011 році: Статистичний збірник / відп. за випуск І. В. Сеник. – К.: Державна служба статистики України, 2012. – 343 с.
3. Labor market of Ukraine: Revival despite crisis [Web resource]. – Access mode: http://en.for-ua.com/analytics/2013/02/26/113435.html