Hit on wallets: the war affected the salaries of 75% of Ukrainians

The survey involved 600 employers and 20,000 workers in the most common jobs.

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

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

• 33% of respondents answered that the company initially suspended its activities, but then the employees returned to work;
• 27% of respondents said that the war did not affect their employment in any way.

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

The vast majority of personnel - 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. The majority of respondents have higher education:

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

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

Almost half of the respondents studied English and speaks it at the elementary level and above. Slightly more than 6% of them know the language at a high level:

• Beginner (beginner) - 32%;
• Did not study (a) - 23%;
• Elementary (elementary) - 22%;
• Intermediate (medium) - 16%;
• Upper-Intermediate (above average) - 5%;
• Advanced (advanced) - 1%;
• Proficient (perfect language proficiency) - 0.3%.

At the same time, the level of salary can be directly related to knowledge of the language, as it allows a specialist to work with foreign clients.

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 provide significant benefits.

Salaries through the eyes of workers: in a quarter of respondents, wages have not changed

To the question "How did the war affect your salary?" a quarter of the respondents noted that the salary has not changed, and in 16% it has decreased slightly. At the same time, 3% of respondents' salaries increased. Among the negative consequences of the war are the reduction of workers (19%) and a significant reduction in wages (36%).

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

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

Social package and guarantees: 71% of respondents work officially

The majority of respondents (71%) reported that they were formally registered and worked according to a work book. 5% of employees are registered as sole proprietorships, 1% of employees are employed under a civil law or labor contract. There is no official employment for 22% of respondents.

About two thirds of respondents have 24 or more calendar days of vacation per year. 12% of employees have a vacation of 15-24 days, 5% can rest 5-10 days, and 2% of respondents indicated the shortest vacation - up to 5 days.

The most popular component of the social package is sick pay: 51% of respondents noted its presence. 15% of the study participants have no social package at all. The rest of the respondents noted that their social package consists of:

• health insurance - 14%;
• payment for additional education - 5%;
• English courses - 3%;
• payment/compensation for sports - 3%.

Who earns the most: thirties, men and professionals

From the responses of the surveyed workers, who indicated their gender, it can be seen that in 8 of the 12 positions studied, men are paid more than women. For example, a male cook of the highest category is paid UAH 18,000, and a woman - UAH 15,000, a professional sales manager for a man earns UAH 22,000, and a woman - UAH 18,000. The positions of accountants, economists, cashiers, office managers, waiters and sales assistants are mainly held by women, while there are more men among storekeepers and components. For other positions, the distribution between women and does not have a significant difference.

The highest salaries are received by specialists from 25 to 34 years old, the lowest - by respondents from 16 to 25 years old. The graph below shows the median salaries for all positions, where employees indicated their age

The survey was conducted in July 2022. The salary analysis did not take into account the responses of participants who lost their jobs more than 3 months ago and have not yet found a new one (about 8,000 people) in order to make the results more relevant.

The main industries covered by the survey are:

• hotel and restaurant business, tourism;
• logistics;
• medicine, pharmaceuticals;
• agriculture, agribusiness;
• trade (shops, supermarkets);
• finance, banking.