According to the Institute for Economic Development (IED), the 53rd monthly survey in September among 467 firms of all sizes showed that “labour shortages” remain the primary obstacle to doing business in Ukraine.
The share of firms finding it harder to recruit skilled workers rose from 58.1% to 58.9%, while difficulties in hiring unskilled workers increased from 36.4% to 38.5%. At the same time, only 1.7% of firms plan to increase headcount in the next 3–4 months, 8.4% plan reductions, and 2.9% intend to place employees on forced leave.
Rising concern about workplace safety
The indicator “danger of working” increased sharply in September from 48% in August to 59% and became the second most significant obstacle. “The intensification of attacks on our logistics infrastructure and our energy systems has forced businesses to pay more attention to workplace safety, and this 59% is quite a substantial figure, even in historical terms,” said Yevhen Angel.
This is the second-highest reading for this obstacle since May 2022; it was higher only in October 2024 (62%). More than 80% of respondents in the following regions name dangerous conditions as an obstacle to business:
- Zaporizhzhia Oblast
- Zhytomyr Oblast
- Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
- Kirovohrad Oblast
- Rivne Oblast
- Kyiv Oblast
- Cherkasy Oblast
- Odesa Oblast
- Vinnytsia Oblast
- city of Kyiv
Other obstacles: logistics, prices and power supply
The share citing “rising prices for raw materials, inputs and goods” as an obstacle fell from 50% to 47%, dropping to third place. At the same time, difficulties transporting raw materials or finished goods across Ukraine rose from 26% to 31%.
The indicator “reduced demand for products/services” rose from 27% to 30% and moved from fourth to fifth place. “Lack of working capital” was a concern for 16% of businesses, while “supply chain disruptions” worried 15%.
The share of firms for which “interruptions to electricity, water or heat supply” remained an obstacle rose from 9% to 12%, leaving it eighth in importance. In August, businesses lost 4% of total working time due to outages, most notably in engineering (7%), and 28% of firms temporarily suspended operations.
Assessment of economic policy and views on funding losses
In September, positive assessments of the government’s economic policy fell from 5% to 4%, negative assessments from 29% to 28%, while the share of neutral assessments rose by 1 percentage point to 61%. A quarterly measure showed that 52% of businesses perceived the government as a “regulator”, while 20% saw it as an “obstacle” — the same as the previous quarter.
On funding compensation for losses, 51.6% of respondents believe Russia should finance it, 51.2% indicated international financial assistance, 40.3% chose a combination of state, international and private financing, and 34.7% expect support from the state budget without raising taxes.
“Raising taxes has the least support — only 1.3% of respondents supported an increase in value added tax (VAT) for all consumers, which is being considered as one source to fill a fund for compensating businesses harmed by attacks. And only 4.3% of respondents support raising other taxes and levies,” said Yevhen Angel. Large companies more often expect international assistance, while microbusiness more often expects funding from the state budget without tax increases.
Some 69.4% of businesses oppose raising taxes even if this reduces the level of support, whereas 8.6% support higher taxes in exchange for greater assistance.
Survey methodology
The New Monthly Enterprises Survey (NRES) by the Institute for Economic Development (IED) has been conducted monthly since May 2022. Each monthly measure includes up to 500 Ukrainian industrial enterprises located in 21 of 27 regions.
The September measure included 467 firms of various sizes.