Page 26 - UKRRptSept23

4.4 Corp profit
Small and medium-sized businesses are recovering in Ukraine: 52% of enterprises are operating fully. As of the third quarter, another 41% of entrepreneurs are working with restrictions, and only 7% are not working, according to an EBA survey. Small businesses are also gradually restoring and increasing their financial reserves. Those with a year or more of reserves increased from 12% to 22%, while those with no reserves at all decreased from 32% to 28%. At the same time, 20% have financial reserves for half a year, and 23% have enough for several months. Over the past three months, the number of companies that are paying full salaries has decreased from 62 to 56%. At the same time, the number of those who cut salaries increased from 16% to 24%. In addition, 31% report that their business has suffered losses from the war: 44% estimate the losses to be up to $50,000, 13% - in the range of $50,000 - $100,000, and 24% - more than $100,000. Also, 43% of respondents plan to invest new funds in business development, 21% do not plan any investment, and 36% could not answer.
Despite the war, the number of entrepreneurs in Ukraine is growing.According to Opendatabot, the current number of small and medium-sized businesses surpasses pre-war numbers. The highest rate over the past three years was recorded in June 2023, when 31,477 new FOPs (private entrepreneurs) were registered. The biggest difference between the opening and closing of new FOPs was recorded in the front-line regions and those where hostilities were or are being waged: the Donetsk region lost 8,200 entrepreneurs, Kharkiv region 7,100, Kherson region 4,500, Luhansk region 3,700, and the Zaporizhia region lost more than 2,000 FOPs. The largest increase was recorded in Kyiv, with 12,900 registrations. The Lviv region received 12,300 entrepreneurs, and the Dnipropetrovsk region added 8,600 FOPs. As of the beginning of autumn, more than two million FOPs are working in Ukraine. From the beginning of the full-scale war, from April 2022 to September 2023, 290,910 entrepreneurs have ceased operations.
4.5 Labour and income
4.5.1 Labour market, unemployment dynamics
Ukrainians are leaving Poland due to work dissatisfaction. Some people have returned to Ukraine, and some are moving to other EU countries, writes Rzeczpospolita. Labor market expert Hanna Sudolska emphasized the changing dynamics in the European labor market. She explained that just as Poles prefer to go to Germany for higher-paying work, Ukrainian workers in Poland are doing the same. The attractiveness of work in Poland, particularly seasonal work, has recently decreased for Ukrainians. In 2022, personnel problems for hoteliers and restaurateurs were solved by the influx of female refugees from Ukraine. Currently, 70-80% of these people have not returned to work. They most likely returned to Ukraine or went to Germany or elsewhere to work, said Sudolska. To meet the demand for labor, authorities recommended that business owners create an environment that would encourage Ukrainian citizens to stay in Poland.
26 UKRAINE Country Report September 2023 www.intellinews.com