Poll: Some 76% of Ukrainians become poorer over last two years

Over the past two years the level of well-being of 48% of Ukrainian citizens had deteriorated significantly, while that of 28% deteriorated slightly, according to the sociological survey "Twelve steps to peace: economic consequences of the military conflict in Donbas" held by the Restoring Donbas community initiative.

The partner in the study was TNS Ukraine.

Asked how economic reforms impacted the family budget, 53% of respondents in Ukraine confirmed their family budget has decreased significantly.

"There is a critical situation in the labor market," Head of the Restoring Donbas community initiative Olena Petriayeva said at a press conference in Kyiv.

"The unemployment rate in Ukraine has reached 9%. There are 23% of unemployed among young people. Up to 19 people claim for one vacancy. If at the beginning of the year employment centers registered 700,000 people, then for the first quarter of 2016 a total of 120,000 residents found job. Some 21% of Ukrainians are ready to go to work to EU countries. Most of these people live in western Ukraine with the remainder in areas uncontrolled by Ukrainian authorities. And all this is amidst the catastrophic fall in the welfare of our citizens. The country is losing its population," she said.

The study was conducted in the entire territory of Ukraine, including the areas where public authorities temporarily do not perform their powers (except for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea). A total of 2,000 men and women aged 18 years and older were polled.