Экономические науки/ 14.Экономическая теория

L. Semenyuk , Y. Kovalyuk

Bukovina State Finance Academy, Ukraine

 

Problems and Prospects of labor market Functioning in Ukraine

 

 In 2004 Ukraine adopted market economy, which is unfortunately characterized by unemployment. The economy of our country is not able to sustain a large number of the unemployed. The existing demographic situation, aging of the population, general economic decline and decreasing living standards led to significant changes in the design and implementation of labor potential of the population.

The current socio-economic situation in Ukraine requires development of measures that would, on the one hand, contribute to full employment of working population, especially in areas of Ukraine with surplus labor. That requires immediate action by public authorities in modern conditions of falling demand for labor. Therefore, there should be created regulatory and legislative framework, which could speed up the pace in the implementation of the appropriate strategies in practice. Addressing a wide range of problems in social and labor sphere can be achieved through more efficient functioning of the labor market, which involves on the one hand, increasing labor market flexibility, and, on the other hand, ensuring respect for social rights and guarantees. Labor market sharply reflects most of the political and socio-economic processes in the country and focuses on the most acute problems: high unemployment, increasing structural imbalances of employment, changes in the workforce and work motivation. Therefore, research of problems and prospects of the labor market in our country is a very relevant task.

The subject of the research is problems and prospects of the labor market in Ukraine.

The research object is the labor market at the present stage of economic development.

The purpose of the present paper is to review and identify major problems and prospects of the labor market in Ukraine.

Among theoretical studies, which highlight various aspects of the theory and practice of labor market mechanisms operation and regulation, scientific contributions of D. Bohynia, E. Libanova, O. Pavlovsky, S. Zlupko, V. Mortikov, I. Petrova, L. Shevchenko should be disfinguished. Socio-economic changes, awareness of the labor market in providing employment for the population significantly changed approaches to study of labor market processes, effective use of human resources, social support of less protected populations, etc. This is confirmed in scientific papers by A. Nikiforova, V. Petyuha, V. Onikiyenko, D. Bohynia, Y. Krasnov, G. Kopalova, P. Sabluk, in which the ways of labor market formation and functioning are defined and issues of improvement of the state employment are raised. Problems of state regulation of labor markets and management of human resources are attended by S. Bandura, A. Libanova, N. Nyzhnyk, V. Knyazev, I. Rozputenka, V. Bodrov, V. Bakumenko, V. Skurativskyi, M. Orlatoho, O. Koval, V. Troschynsky, V. Tron.

In Ukraine the national labor market model, which is formed and conditioned by the peculiarities of labor relations in the economy of the Soviet period, has the following features:

1. The high level of monopolization of the economy;

2. State regulation of wages, its weak differentiation depending on the results of company’s activities;

3. High intracompany investment in training and retraining of workers in specific human capital formation.

4. Comfortable with the participation of workers in the unions, regardless of company size and scope [2, p.492].

Analysis of employment growth indicates labor market imbalances by increasing labor supply while reducing demand for it. The main reasons for delayed formation of fixed labor market is maintaining adverse social-economic development, increasing tendency of enterprises to deter workers in a state of shadow unemployment. Unpaid leaves in manufacturing industries have become widespread. Speaking of employment policy, which is instrument of the Civil Employment Service, we should stress the need for immediate solution to several problems. Among them are:

1) a development and preservation of employment potential of increasing its competitiveness and security of high-tech jobs;

2) the formation of social responsibility, including improved protection of workers from the employers' discretion;

3) overcoming enormous professional-qualification imbalance between market demand and training schools.

And, of course, pivotal issue is the wage, without repeated and non-inflationary increase of which Ukraine will not reach any socio-economic progress. Unfortunately, a unified system of forecasting market demand has not yet been created in Ukraine, which results in professional-qualification observed imbalance in the labor market.

The need to minimize effects of financial and economic crisis and to provide social protection from unemployment, stabilization and subsequent improvement in the labor market leads to identify areas and ways of state regulation of the labor market .

         Hence, while forming  fully functioning market mechanisms, the government should take over the function of employment adjustment at the macro level, linking the situation in the area of employment and labor market conditions on the functioning of the economy. The strategic objective of further development of world and Ukrainian economy is to improve the efficiency of human resources. That person, his ability to work creatively one of the main factors of economic growth. A specific indicator of increasing role of human factor is the labor market, which occupies a central place in the system of market relations.

 

 

 

 

List of sources

 

 1. Ruzhenskyy M.  Economic and social aspects of employment in a market economy. / Ruzhenskyy M. / / Economy and State. - 2009. - № 2. - P.33-39.

2. Stepura T. Employment and unemployment: the status and trends in the labor market / Stepura T. / / Journal LDAU: Economy AIC. - 2009. - № 10 (2). - P. 491-498.

3. Khramov V. government and state employment policy. /  Khramov V. / / Economy and State. - 2010. - № 2. - P.19-24.