Three mln of Ukrainians want to go to work abroad, first to Poland, Germany and Italy – poll by GfK Ukraine

Around 8% of Ukrainians, or about 3 million people, plan to find a job abroad in the nearest future, according to a poll conducted by GfK Ukraine under a request of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

According to the poll, the number of men among them is twice as high as that of women.

Thirty-four (34%) percent of survey respondents would not object to employment abroad but have not seriously considered it yet.

At the same time, the share of Ukrainians who would not want to work abroad decreased from 55% in 2011 to 44% today.

As regards major destination countries for labour migrants from Ukraine, the attractiveness of Russia appears to have decreased over the past years. In 2011, 18% of those willing to work abroad were considering going there, whereas now only 12% are inclined to do so.

At the same time, the attractiveness of Poland has increased from 7% in 2006, when the first similar IOM-commissioned survey was conducted, to 30% now.

Today, Poland and Germany appear at the top of the list among countries where Ukrainians would like to work the most. Italy ranks third, with 19% of potential labour migrants willing to work there, followed by the U.S. (15%), Great Britain and Russia (12%), and Canada and the Czech Republic (11%).

"This is a worrying tendency," says IOM Ukraine’s Chief of Mission Manfred Profazi. "We also see a sharp increase in the number of people who would accept risky offers regarding their potential employment abroad. Now, 21% of potential labour migrants from Ukraine would agree to cross the border illegally, work in locked premises, or give their passports to their employer."

"The results of the survey reflect the impact of the economic crisis and the conflict in the East on the migration intentions of Ukrainians. The difficult living conditions many Ukrainians are facing make them more likely to take on risky job offers abroad and to accept working conditions they would normally reject," he said.

The sample size of the representative population survey, conducted in February-March 2015, constituted 2,087 respondents. The sample is representative for the population aged 15+ by region, settlement size, age and gender. The survey was conducted on government-controlled territories of Ukraine.