Nearly 4.8 million jobs have been lost in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, as the conflict led to business closures, dramatically reduced exports and forced millions to flee the country, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said today.
Job losses, equivalent to about 30% of Ukraine’s pre-invasion workforce, could reach seven million if hostilities continuethe ILO said in a survey, adding that 3.4 million jobs could be restored quickly in the event of a ceasefire.
War could also increase unemployment in neighboring countries that welcome millions of refugees and hit the economies of Central Asia as migrants working in Russia lose their jobs and return to their homelands.
Russian forces bomb Ukrainian cities in a war that has killed thousands, forced at least five million others – mostly women, children and the elderly – to flee, and could shrink the Ukrainian economy by at least one. third in 2022.
«The financial turmoil, combined with the wide range internal displacement and refugee flowscause large-scale losses in terms of employment and income“, The research states.
«The Russian attack on Ukraine led to a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, causing the fastest forced population movement since World War II»he said.
Neighboring countries such as Poland and Romania have absorbed most of the refugees, 1.2 million of whom are estimated to have worked before the invasion.
A protracted conflict will put constant pressure on labor markets and welfare systems in those countries, possibly boosting unemployment, according to the survey.
«“In a hypothetical exercise, by adding these refugees to the number of unemployed, the unemployment rate in Poland will increase from 3% to 5.3%.”he said.
The war will also have a secondary impact on countries in Central Asia that are heavily dependent on remittances sent by migrants working to Russia..
An economic downturn in Russia, compounded by Western sanctions and the costs of war, could result in migrant workers losing their jobs and returning home, the report said.
Worldwide, the war in Ukraine worsens them increases in food and energy pricesthreatening jobs and rising real wages, especially in low- and middle-income countries still recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
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