Sole proprietors hire more employees: which regions are in the lead
19 March 2025 10:53
In 2024, at least 673,000 Ukrainians worked for individual entrepreneurs (IEs) paying the single tax. According to the State Tax Service, the number of jobs created by small businesses has increased compared to the previous year. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Opendatabot.
According to analysts, the number of individual entrepreneurs with employees increased by 9% over the year. There are 673 thousand people working for 259 thousand entrepreneurs, which is 13% less than before the war.
Interestingly, the number of employees does not always depend on the total number of active sole proprietors or the intensity of hostilities. For example, in the covid period of 2020-2021, the number of employees of sole proprietors decreased by 11%, although the number of entrepreneurs themselves remained almost unchanged (-822).
Here’s how the situation has changed in recent years:
- 2021: 262,848 sole proprietorships employers, 865,119 employees;
- 2022: 262,026 sole proprietors, 772,340 employees;
- 2023: 229,166 individual entrepreneurs, 616,216 employees;
- 2024: 259,976 sole proprietors, 673,251 employees.
Where are the most sole proprietors with employees?
Dnipropetrovska oblast became the leader in the number of sole proprietors who hire employees – 24 thousand entrepreneurs, which is 9% of the total.
Most entrepreneurs who hire employees are registered in:
- Dnipropetrovska oblast – 24 thousand (9% of the total);
- Kyiv – 23 thousand;
- Lviv region – 23 thousand.
These regions are traditionally economic centers, which explains their activity in the labor market.
Regions with the largest increase in the number of individual entrepreneurs-employers compared to the pre-war period:
- Rivne and Khmelnytskyi regions – 26%;
- Chernivtsi region – 25%;
- Volyn and Zhytomyr regions – 24%.
At the same time, the number of entrepreneurs with employees decreased by 9% in Mykolaiv region and by 4% in Odesa region. It is expected that the lowest number of sole proprietorships is in the frontline and partially occupied regions.
Changes in reporting for individual entrepreneurs in 2025
Starting in 2025, sole proprietorships will face new requirements: they are now required to report monthly to the Tax Service on employee income, withheld taxes, and a single contribution. Previously, such reports were submitted once a quarter. This innovation sparked discussions among entrepreneurs, as it increases the administrative burden.
However, on March 17, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada registered draft law No. 13108, which proposes to return quarterly reporting, but with a breakdown by month. The initiators believe that this will help reduce the pressure on small businesses, which are already operating in difficult war conditions.
