Vast majority of displaced people of working age in Kharkiv involved in city's economy – mayor
In Kharkiv, slightly more than 10% of displaced people of working age are actively looking for work and need help with employment, said the city mayor, head of the Association of Frontline Cities and Communities Ihor Terekhov.
"Today in Kharkiv, out of the total number of internally displaced persons [210,000], about 93,000 are of working age. Of them, approximately 9,600 [just over 10%] are actively looking for work and need assistance with employment. That is, the overwhelming majority of those who are able to work are, in one way or another, involved in the city’s economy," Terekhov said in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
According to him, 724 internally displaced persons are employed in municipal healthcare institutions, 179 work in schools, and the largest number of IDPs are engaged at municipal enterprises and enterprises of critical infrastructure.
"They [the displaced persons] are involved in the repair of residential buildings, in the housing and utilities sector, in transport, and in recovery after shelling," Terekhov said.
He noted that some displaced persons have started their own businesses.
"There are displaced persons who are launching their own businesses. This, by the way, is quite difficult in a frontline city, because the risks here are very high and access to credit and insurance is limited. But I have spoken with displaced persons who have joined the business community, and I see that they are very active and very eager to work. They are looking for opportunities. Of course, we help them. In Kharkiv, 173 displaced persons have already received microgrants from the city totaling about UAH 81.5 million. They have created 318 jobs. That is, we see a certain multiplier effect," Terekhov said.