IT sector as a driver of employment and innovation in Ukraine in the context of decent work and sustainable development

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to investigate the role of the IT sector as a key driver of employment, innovative development, and economic growth in Ukraine amid the full-scale military invasion and the country’s European integration course. The research also analyzes the compliance of working conditions in the industry with the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) decent work criteria and substantiates priority directions of state policy for the development of the IT industry in the context of sustainable innovative development. The study employs methods of system analysis, comparative analysis, and statistical generalization of the dynamics of the IT industry’s development for 2019–2024. A matrix approach based on the four pillars of the ILO Decent Work concept – productive employment, fair remuneration, social protection, and social dialogue – was used to assess the compliance of IT employment with decent work criteria. It is established that the IT sector demonstrates unique resilience to crisis phenomena, maintaining employment levels even under the conditions of full-scale war. The level of remuneration in the industry exceeds the national economic average by 3–10 times depending on the specialist’s qualification, which fully meets the ILO’s criterion of fair remuneration. At the same time, systemic gaps were identified: the predominance of individual entrepreneur employment (60–80% of specialists), gender imbalance in technical specialties, uneven regional distribution of opportunities, and the weakness of social dialogue institutions at the industry level. The study proposes priority directions for state policy, including: legislative regulation of the status of IT specialists with a gradual transition to full-fledged employment contracts; the development of a comprehensive strategy for digital competencies to facilitate retraining of specialists from traditional industries; support for regional IT clusters to overcome spatial disparities; the establishment of industry-level social dialogue mechanisms; and the harmonization of labor market regulation with EU directives within Ukraine’s European integration agenda.