Ukraine War Refugees in Labour Market. Evidence from North-East Poland

Abstract

Goal – the aim of the article is to identify and assess the labour activity of war refugees from Ukraine. Research methodology – the assessment was based on interviews conducted with working Ukrainian citizens who arrived in four North-East regions of Poland, which are also part of the eastern border of the European Union. Interviews with refugees were conducted using an author’s questionnaire written in Ukrainian. Score/results – on the basis of the collected empirical material, it can be concluded that the refugees are people of working age and well educated, which made it easier for them to find jobs, albeit inadequate for their learned professions. Most of them make a living from the salaries they receive. Thus, they can be considered entrepreneurial and resourceful Originality/value – many studies have focused on analysing the impact of forced migration on the labour market in host countries, indicating its both positive and negative effects. At the same time, there is a shortage of scientific studies resulting from empirical research relating to the employment situation of Ukrainian immigrants arriving in the country after February 2022. The issue of the labour market participation of Ukraine war migrants in Poland is still a relatively new research area, which requires systematic research and in-depth analysis in order to design the most effective measures.