STRUCTURAL DISPROPORTIONS AND IMBALANCES IN THE LABOR MARKET OF OBLASTS OF THE CARPATHIAN REGION OF UKRAINE IN THE CONDITIONS OF WAR: TRENDS, THREATS, ORIENTATIONS FOR STABILIZATION POLICY AND USE OF OPPORTUNITIES

Abstract

The aim of the study is to identify the core trends, risks and threats to the functioning and development of the regional labor markets of Ukraine in terms of the Russian-Ukrainian war and substantiate the instruments of regional stabilization policy. The key disparities in the labor market of the Carpathian region of Ukraine, developed under martial law and due to the forced internal migration of refugees from the territories where hostilities take place and from adjacent areas (many refugees are looking for employment in western Ukraine), weakening of the human resources of economic entities as a result of mobilization of their staff for the army, external emigration of the population, including western regions in the context of visa liberalization and broad assistance to Ukrainian refugees, relocation of business (and increasing its pace) from central and eastern Ukraine to the west (which changes the characteristics of job supply and labor demand), etc. have been analysed. Three types of transformations of the labor market and the sphere of employment in the regions of the Carpathian region of Ukraine have been identified. The levels of general and economic burden on the population of the Carpathian region of Ukraine by forced migration are estimated. Risks and threats to the functioning of the labor market of the Carpathian region of Ukraine under the current conditions of war and martial law have been identified. The potential opportunities emerging in the intra-regional labor markets of the western regions of Ukraine during the war are substantiated. The measures implemented by the central and regional authorities to stabilize the labor market situation are analyzed. The scientific novelty of the research results is the identification of potential opportunities, as well as the definition of regional policy instruments for stabilizing domestic labor markets under non-standard conditions, namely war, large numbers of internal and external refugees, business migration and other challenges. The applied significance of the research results is that the proposals for the authorities aimed at stabilizing the labor market of the Carpathian region of Ukraine under conditions of war and post-war reconstruction are substantiated. The implementation of these initiatives will contribute to the stabilization and development of the labor market in the martial law and post-war reconstruction, as it provides measures to support businesses and assistance to internally displaced persons and persons who have lost their employment, with various "packages" of support – basic (housing, work, educational, medical, social and other services) and special (meeting special needs of migrants and providing targeted social assistance).