Researching the Cyclical Fluctuations of Emigration from Ukraine

Abstract

The article is aimed at researching the cyclical fluctuations and tendencies of emigration from Ukraine. Priority countries of emigration of Ukrainians at the present stage are determined; fluctuations in the net migration of Ukrainians along with the population numbers are analyzed; dynamics of the workforce volumes are explored; promising tendencies in emigration from Ukraine are evaluated; waves of emigration of Ukrainians are identified, their quantitative and qualitative characterizations are presented; basic principles and priorities of the country’s employment policy are outlined. Ukraine is significantly inferior to most European countries in terms of the level and quality of life of the population, and this is what prompts the relocation of some active and ambitious individuals who see migration as a reliable way to improve their standard of living. For the most part, Ukrainian migrants do not compete in destination countries with the local population for prestigious job vacancies in the labor market, but occupy less attractive jobs. A destructive consequence of mass emigration and the deterioration of the political and economic situation in the country is a rapid decline in the population of Ukraine. With the current migration tendencies, the next wave of emigration will lead to the departure of able-bodied young people from Ukraine, which carries the threat of depopulation and economic crisis. The uneven structure of the population with the predominant number of socially unprotected segments of the population makes economic development impossible for the country. It is substantiated that there is a need for proactive, flexible and securitized policy of employment of the population in Ukraine. With the development of the information society and the digital economy, Ukraine should support the introduction of information and communication technologies in the labor market, promote new types of social and labor relations, as well as new approaches to management of human resources.

Keywords

• globalization
• labor market
• migration processes
• international labor migration
• emigration
• cyclical fluctuations
• waves of emigration