Business

Ranking of the Largest Employers in Ukraine’s Regions: A New Leader Emerges

OpenDataBot has updated its annual ranking of Ukraine’s largest employers by region. In 2026, the top employers changed in six regions, and energy companies became the largest employers in ten regions. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian", citing data from OpenDataBot.

Ukrzaliznytsia remains the largest employer in the capital and throughout Ukraine, employing nearly 170,000 people.

The ranking was compiled based on financial reporting data from Ukrainian companies. It includes the companies with the largest number of employees in each region of the country.

Ukraine’s largest employer — Ukrzaliznytsia

Ukrzaliznytsia traditionally remains the largest employer in Kyiv and throughout Ukraine.

The company employs 169,952 people

Over the past year, the number of employees decreased by 4.9%.

At the same time, Ukrzaliznytsia remains a key player in the transport and logistics sector and ranks among the top ten companies in the OpenDataBot Index in this industry.

Who leads in the largest regions

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, ATB-Market remains the largest employer. The company employs 46,649 people, and its workforce grew by 1.2% over the year. ATB is part of the ATB Group and is one of the country’s largest employers overall.

In Poltava Oblast, “Aurora”—legally known as Vygidna Pokupka LLC—took first place. The company has 14,590 employees and increased its workforce by 16% over the year.

In Zaporizhzhia, Zaporizhstal took the lead, employing 8,039 people. Compared to 2024, the company’s workforce decreased by 6.3%.

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Where the leaders have changed

OpenDataBot notes that the largest employer has changed in six regions of Ukraine.

One of the most notable examples is Volyn Oblast. There, the new leader is WOG—Petrol Contract LLC, which belongs to the Continum Group.

The company employs 5,490 people

Over the past year, the workforce has grown by nearly 1.7 times. At the same time, WOG explained to OpenDataBot that this growth is primarily due to the consolidation of legal entities, rather than an actual sharp increase in the number of new jobs.

Largest employers in the regions: key companies

Energy companies became the largest employers in 10 regions

A distinct trend in the ranking is the strong role of energy companies. In 10 regions of Ukraine, companies that provide electricity or operate in the energy sector have become the largest employers.

This indicates that the energy sector remains one of the largest employers in the regions, especially against the backdrop of the war, attacks on infrastructure, and the need for constant network restoration.

Retail trade also holds a strong position

Retail chains play a prominent role in the ranking. Among the region’s largest employers are ATB, Aurora, Fora, Faino Market, Taystra Group, WOG, UPG, and other companies involved in retail, fuel, and services.

This is due to their extensive network of stores, gas stations, warehouses, and logistics centers, as well as the significant demand for staff in each region.

According to OpenDataBot, 8 companies from the ranking of the region’s largest employers also made it into the OpenDataBot Index 2026.

Among them are:

• “Ukrzaliznytsia”;
• ATB-Market;
• Aurora;
• Zaporizhstal;
• WOG;
• Fora;
• Vinnytsia Poultry Farm;
• UPG.

These are companies that play a significant role not only in the labor market but also in their respective industries—transportation, trade, agriculture, metallurgy, and the fuel market.

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