- Key problems for business remained unchanged. "Labor shortage" is in first place (indicated by 60% of respondents).
- In second place is the problem "dangerous to work" (57%). "Interruptions in electricity, water, or heat supply" received 48% of responses.
- Noticeable negative changes in the perception of the government's economic policy: the share of negative ratings rose from 20% to 29%, which is a record since 2024.
In January 2026, the top three leaders of impediments to business development did not change, despite the intensification of military risks.
This is evidenced by the results of the 45th monthly survey, which the IER conducted in the second half of January among 491 industrial enterprises.
"Labor shortage" remains in first place with an almost unchanged value — 60% after 62% in December.
Problems with finding qualified workers remained more significant than unskilled ones: 52.6% of companies experienced difficulties in finding qualified workers and 32.5% — in finding unskilled ones.
60% of Ukrainian businesses face a shortage of workers
In second place is the problem "dangerous to work," which slightly decreased from 57% to 54%.
"Over the last two months, the perception of safety has deteriorated. But the worst situation was in October 2024, when 62% of respondents pointed this out.
Now, attention to safety is intensifying closer to the frontline and in regions that are most often attacked, particularly in central regions.
In the West, this obstacle is less relevant, but in January, safety issues began to worry business more in the Rivne region," reported IER Senior Research Fellow Yevhen Anhel.
More than 80% of those surveyed in Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy, and Vinnytsia regions consider dangerous conditions an obstacle to doing business.
Dangerous working conditions worry 80% of enterprises in key regions
In third place are "interruptions in electricity, water, or heat supply," which received 48% of responses after 42% in December.
"Interruptions in electricity supply due to the intensification of attacks against infrastructure remain in the top 3 obstacles.
In fourth place is "rising prices for raw materials, supplies, and goods," indicated by 45% of respondents after 42% in December, which is close to the top three obstacles," noted Yevhen Anhel.
Power supply interruptions in the top 3 obstacles for enterprises
Detailed data showed that in December, 60% of businesses temporarily suspended work due to power outages.
The largest share of enterprises (27%) did not work 1–10% of the time, another 25% — 11–25% of the time.
The most critical situation was observed in 7% of enterprises that did not work 26–50% of the time.
Only 5% of businesses did not experience outages, and 35% worked continuously despite interruptions.
Average losses of working time in December amounted to 10%. The worst situation is in the Dnipropetrovsk region, where working time losses reached an average of 36%, and in Zhytomyr — 25%.
Business in the Volyn region lost 20% of time, Zaporizhzhia – 19%, and Kyiv – 11%.
Among sectors, the largest losses were in metallurgy and metalworking (21%), production of construction materials, light industry, and woodworking (11% each).
Micro-business suffers the most and loses 13% of working time. Large business continues to experience the smallest losses (7%).
Regarding other obstacles: 21% of businesses noted "decreased demand for products/services" (+1 p.p.) and "difficulties with transporting raw materials or finished products" (+5 p.p.).
Obstacles such as "corruption" and "pressure from law enforcement agencies" are mostly not significant — they were mentioned by 7% and 1% of respondents respectively.
Main impediments to doing business during wartime, % of respondents
Assessments of the government's economic policy remain mostly neutral — their share decreased from 68% to 61%.
At the same time, negative changes are noticeable: the share of negative ratings rose from 20% to 29%, which is a record since 2024.
The share of positive ratings has remained unchanged for five consecutive months — 4%.
"Since the summer of 2023, the gap between negative and positive ratings has begun to grow, and this gap remains to this day," noted Yevhen Anhel.
Negative assessments of economic policy have risen sharply
Up to 500 Ukrainian industrial enterprises located in 21 out of 27 regions of Ukraine participate in the monthly New Monthly Enterprises Survey (#NRES) from the IER. The survey has been conducted on a monthly basis since May 2022. The surveys are conducted within the framework of the project "Integration of Ukraine into the EU: a dialogue built on facts" with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.
Video presentation of the January survey results – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AorHExrYShQ&t
All previous surveys since July 2022 – http://www.ier.com.ua/en/proekt_dilova_dumka/NRES_Presentations
