Kiev

- After the public knew him as a presenter of news bulletins and economic programs in several Ukrainian government channels since 2013, the Ukrainian journalist Volodymyr Korenoy sits behind the wheel of his car and has been working as a taxi driver for months, after the war removed him from front of the camera.

Korenoi talks about the experience of losing his job as he wanders the streets and neighborhoods of the capital, Kyiv, for long hours without rest.

He says, "Compared with others, I see myself as lucky, because I have a car that I can work on, even if it returns to me about half of what I was earning before the war. I work to live, and I try to send my wife and two refugee children in Europe what helps them every month."

Regarding others' view of his new job, the former announcer says, "Many of my colleagues and viewers are surprised when they see me or know that I am now a taxi driver. Their reaction always carries feelings of understanding and pity at the same time."

But the matter has become normal for him, especially since a number of my colleagues have turned to unemployment or work in hard professions.

"I pity other colleagues who were forced by circumstances to work as a waiter in public in cafes, restaurants and markets, or even ask for aid," Korenoi says.

He continued, "Returning to media work is now almost impossible, because of the closure, bankruptcy, merging of many media outlets, and layoffs of a large percentage of employees; job opportunities do not exceed 3%, while it was 10 times that percentage before the war."

And in line with the difficult conditions imposed by the war, a large segment of Ukrainians found in changing professions an alternative refuge to earn money and continue life, even if it was difficult and with little pay, or far from fields of work that they did not know others.


Unemployment is a silent war

While Russian and Ukrainian forces talk about their successes and failures on the frontlines in the midst of the 11-month-old war, the unemployment force has crept silently, occupying the lives of millions of Ukrainians.

Statistics from the Ukrainian government, the National Bank and the Ministry of Economy estimate the number of people who lost their jobs and jobs during 2022 at about 2.6 million.

This brings the number of unemployed to about 5 million.

However, other statistics in non-governmental study centers indicate that the number of people who have lost their jobs in the public and private sectors may actually reach 10 million, which is equivalent to 28.5 to 30% of the current total population.

The same percentage applies to the decline in both the overall economy and the domestic product during the past year, as a result of a large percentage of factories, institutions and companies stopping work for many reasons;

The most important of which are war, destruction, and the decline in the possibility of import and export.

Perhaps the largest proportions of closure and unemployment are due to the outbreak of war in the eastern and southern provinces more than others (Kharkov, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson), which are known as the "capitals of industry and agriculture" in the country.

Ukrainian retired Galina sells military symbols in Independence Square in central Kyiv (the island)

Retired work

In general, changing professions or practicing a number of them at the same time may be normal for Ukrainians before the war, but it was dependent on their preferred areas of work and inevitably subject to social and financial considerations.

As for today, all of this is of no importance if the opportunity comes, as the need includes everyone, and does not show mercy even to the retired elderly, whose situation it is correct to say is tragic.

Mrs. Galina - who is over seventy years old - is no longer sufficient for her pension to live for a few days, as it has declined due to the depreciation of the national currency (hryvnia) to about $75, and it no longer meets her basic needs in the face of an inflation rate of about 80%.

In Independence Square (center of Kyiv), Galina sits daily in front of a small table selling flags and military and Ukrainian symbols used in the shadow of the war.

She tells Al-Jazeera Net, "It is very cold here, but people's questions are more severe, and the idea of ​​resorting to another country is difficult for me. I will work as long as I can, and I prefer to die on my land."

The spread of poverty

The income of all retirees and the newly unemployed declined, due to the deterioration of the economy and inflation, and they all entered the poverty list, whose rate reached 60%.

According to the assessment of the Institute of Demography and Social Research of the National Academy of Sciences, between 55 and 60 percent of Ukrainians will live below the poverty line in 2023.

"We have never been a very rich nation, but people had certain savings; some in dollars or hryvnias. Now these savings are being eaten up in the shadow of the war," says the institute's expert, Ella Libanova.

Libanova mentioned in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net - for example - that Ukrainian refugees abroad have - at least - some financial support and job opportunities, while millions of internally displaced people face unemployment, and state aid is negligible.

Unfortunately, things are likely to get worse this year, and poverty rates may reach 75% by the end of it.”