MOSCOW, July 15. /TASS/. The number of Ukrainian firms complaining of a shortage of labor preventing them from conducting business at full capacity rose to over 70% in June from 69% in May, the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consultations (IER) said.

"In June 2026, a record number of entrepreneurs (71%) called the shortage of labor the main obstacle to doing business," an IEI study says.

This problem is the worst in the Kirovograd, Chernovtsy, Lvov, Cherkassy, Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, Zhitomir and Zaporozhye regions, where more than 80% of business leaders complain about the lack of labor and specialists.

Rising prices for raw materials remain second on the list of the key obstacles to doing business, according to the study.

The survey was conducted in June on the territory of Ukraine controlled by Kiev by telephone interview among the heads of 471 industrial enterprises.