Transformation of Employment by Types of Economic Activity as an Indicator of Structural Changes in the Economy of Ukraine

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyze the process of structural transformations of employment in Ukraine by spheres of economic activity in order to identify priority directions for the development of the labor market in the context of the world economic trends. In the article the analysis of the transformation of employment in Ukraine is carried out according to the methodology of M. Castells used in the book “The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture”. Based on the data of the State Statistics Committee and Eurostat, a comparative analysis of the transformation of employment by major groups of foreign economic activity is made, special attention being paid to the industrial and service sector. The obtained results testify to the narrowing of the domestic labor market and deformation of its structure, noncompliance of structural transformations of employment in Ukraine with modern world trends. This is manifested in a decrease in the percentage of employed in the industrial sector of the economy (due to its stagnation and decline), its growth in agriculture, and a much lower share of employment (in comparison with the EU countries) in the service sector. A decrease in the share of the employed in services to manufactures is revealed, which is a “trap” for the development of the Ukrainian industry. The share of people employed in the domestic service sector remains low, which indicates a low standard of living for the majority of the country’s population. The share of the employed in social services though is growing but significantly slower than in European countries. There substantiated the necessity of developing a strategy for a new social and economic policy aimed at the revival and innovation development of the industrial sector, modernization of the industrial and social infrastructure, and on this basis — ensuring a progressive structure of productive employment.

Keywords

• labor market
• employment of population
• employment structure
• employment transformation
• deindustrialization
• service sector