Interest in vacancies in the Armed Forces of Ukraine has noticeably decreased - research
The number of responses from Ukrainians to vacancies in the Armed Forces has decreased by 40% over the year. This is evidenced by data from the job search service Work.ua.
The decline in candidate activity occurs against the backdrop of a large number of service offers. Military vacancies have already become a prominent part of the Ukrainian labor market: at the end of 2025, their number on Work.ua exceeded 10 thousand and accounted for about 10% of all job offers on the platform.
Previously, Work.ua also recorded a gradual decrease in competition among candidates for military positions. In January 2025, the average number of responses per one Defense Forces vacancy dropped to the lowest level since the launch of the corresponding section.
Combat positions have the fewest candidates
The hardest thing for military units is to find candidates for combat and highly specialized positions. Low competition was previously recorded, in particular, among vacancies for grenade launchers, flamethrowers, gunners, sappers, riflemen, communications specialists, and workers in manual trades.
In contrast, more candidates usually apply for positions that have clear civilian equivalents. This includes work in the fields of marketing, procurement, law, management, accounting, and record-keeping.
A separate section with Defense Forces vacancies launched on Work.ua in December 2023 as part of the service's cooperation with the Ministry of Defense. Already in the first two months of the project, the number of offers increased from 821 to 1586, and the units received more than 20.5 thousand responses.
The reduction in the number of responses does not mean an equivalent decrease in the number of people who actually entered military service. One candidate may apply for several positions, and some recruitment processes go through other platforms, recruiting centers, and directly through military units.
Based on materials from: Ekonomichna Pravda
