Migrants and the impact of war on business: Study reveals the connection

Ukrainian migrants face high unemployment in their host countries, and this is directly related to their lack of knowledge of the local language. These are the findings of a study conducted by Gradus Research on the impact of migration on the Ukrainian economy and business.

The study found a high level of employment among Ukrainian migrants. In particular, 70% of Ukrainians who moved abroad after the outbreak of war in Ukraine already have jobs.

According to the survey, 54% work in the countries where they reside, 12% work remotely for Ukrainian companies, and 4% work remotely for foreign companies. The main reason for unemployment among Ukrainian migrants is lack of knowledge of the local language (43%).

More than 66% of Ukrainian companies are operating as usual, while the remainder (34%) are operating in a limited way or are affected by industry transformation. This indicates a significant increase in the number of businesses in need of transformation compared to last year.

At the same time, more than a quarter of the surveyed companies (26%) state that their enterprises are operating at full capacity or even exceed it by 100%. Also, half of the surveyed companies (52%) are operating at more than 50% capacity. Nevertheless, three-quarters of respondents (76%) indicated that the average monthly income of their businesses decreased during the war.

According to a survey of the business community, only 24% of the companies surveyed are experiencing a shortage of staff. During this period, the planning horizon for most companies has decreased, as 71% of them plan a year ahead or less. Despite this, businesses remain optimistic and more than half of the respondents (53%) are considering various options for active or moderate development of their activities in the future.

The main challenges for business during the war are maintaining salaries (44%) and markets/customers (41%), as well as ensuring the functioning of enterprises in the face of power outages (41%).

Sociology specialist and founder of Gradus Research, Yevheniya Blyznyuk, commented on the survey results, noting that the migration of Ukrainians is beginning to have a significant impact on Ukrainian companies. Businesses see the problem of staff shortage as one of the key risks of the future and are ready to take measures to address it.

In addition, the mobilization of personnel is recognized as one of the main risks. To address these problems, businesses plan to attract new employees from Ukraine (41%), create conditions for remote work (34%), and offer attractive financial conditions for work (32%).