Competition among employers for builders in Ukraine is intensifying: over the year, the median salary in the industry has increased by 22% and reached 38,125 UAH. Some specialists are offered over 70,000 UAH, continuing the trend of rising worker salaries, recorded as early as the beginning of summer. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, referencing a study by OLX Work.
Who in construction earns over 70,000 hryvnias
In July 2026, the median salary in the category 'Construction / Finishing Works' was 38,125 UAH. Over the year, it has increased by 22%, although the number of vacancies has practically not changed - the growth was only 1%.
Employers are willing to pay the most for specialists with specific practical skills:
- Facade worker - 72,500 UAH;
- Plasterer - 71,250 UAH;
- Tiler - 71,000 UAH;
- Mason - 66,500 UAH;
- Painter - 65,000 UAH;
- Builder - 55,000 UAH;
- Installer - 47,500 UAH;
- Electrician - 45,000 UAH;
- Welder - 42,500 UAH;
- Laborer - 29,000 UAH.
For comparison, the overall median salary in the Ukrainian labor market is 30,500 UAH. Thus, facade workers, plasterers, and tilers can earn more than twice as much.
Back in February, facade workers were offered 67,500 UAH, while plasterers were offered 66,300 UAH. At that time, the construction industry had already entered the sectors with the highest salaries in Ukraine.
'Businesses are increasingly competing for specialists, which is reflected in wage levels. At the same time, the labor shortage in 2026 is deepening due to mobilization processes, migration, and a lack of qualified personnel,' explained Maria Abdullina, head of the OLX Work division.
Where builders are most needed in 2026
The geography of demand has noticeably changed. The number of construction vacancies grew fastest in Kropyvnytskyi - by 27%. In Dnipro, offers increased by 23%, in Poltava - by 16%, in Zaporizhzhia - by 14%, and in Mykolaiv - by 13%.
In Kharkiv, the number of vacancies increased by 8%, in Sumy - by 4%. Meanwhile, in Kyiv, the number of offers decreased by 12%, and in Lviv, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Vinnytsia - by 10%.
At the same time, candidate activity has noticeably increased in western Ukraine. In Uzhhorod, the number of responses increased by 46%, in Lviv - by 41%, in Khmelnytskyi - by 29%, and in Chernivtsi - by 27%. In Mykolaiv, on the contrary, responses decreased by 40%, and in Zaporizhzhia - by 11%.
This indicates that the labor market is increasingly differing by region: in the west, candidates are competing more actively for jobs, while in some eastern and southern cities, employers find it more difficult to find people.
At the same time, the youth have started to show more interest in the industry. In 2026, nearly 24,000 applications were submitted for the specialty 'Construction and Civil Engineering' - 33.4% more than the year before.
Recall that earlier Inkorr reported that due to the labor shortage, Ukrainian builders and drivers are being paid more, and employers are forced to compete for qualified workers.