As of early 2026, Ukraine recorded over 36.6 thousand wage debts, according to the Unified Register of Debtors. This was reported by UNN with reference to Opendatabot.
Details
Almost 2,000 cases date back to 2017. A record 9.1 thousand proceedings regarding wage debts were opened last year. This is 30% more than in 2024. Over a quarter of the debts are attributed to companies operating in the chemical production sector.
At the same time, 36,629 active proceedings regarding unpaid wages were recorded in Ukraine at the beginning of 2026. Over the year, the collection of unpaid wages increased by 6%.
Overall, last year Ukrainian companies set an anti-record: 9,174 proceedings regarding wage debts against 488 companies. This is 30% more than in 2024 and the highest figure in the last 5 years.
56% of the collections for overdue wages opened last year have not yet been repaid.
However, as Opendatabot notes, companies producing chemical products were more likely than others to withhold funds from their employees last year: over 2.6 thousand proceedings, or 29% of all. Almost as many debts are held by enterprises in the electricity and gas supply sector (27%).
More than a third of all proceedings opened last year fall on Dnipropetrovsk region - 3.2 thousand cases. With a significant margin, businesses from Ivano-Frankivsk region (1.1 thousand), Sumy region (897), and Lviv region (770) follow this negative example.
At the same time, only 1 case was recorded in Luhansk region, 4 more in Chernivtsi region, and 12 proceedings regarding wage debts in Volyn.
Mostly, money is delayed by private companies: 62% of all debts for 2025. Another quarter of cases concern municipal enterprises and over 13% - state-owned ones. Limited liability companies, municipal, and joint-stock enterprises are most often involved.
Recall
In 2026, tax rates for individual entrepreneurs will not increase, but they will still have to pay more, as the minimum wage and living wage, from which taxes and fees are calculated, will increase.