In Ukraine, 60% of IDPs who were employed before displacement have lost their job.
This is evidenced by the data of a survey conducted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) from July 17 to July 23.
At the same time, according to the survey, 9% of IDPs had no income since the outbreak of the full-scale war, and 35% said their household income has been less than UAH 5,000 ($137) per month, which is UAH 1,500 less than the minimum wage in Ukraine. IOM said that the situation with IDPs' employment remains quite critical and is one of the reasons pushing people to return.
"Over 6.6 million people are internally displaced in Ukraine, according to the latest survey. The share of displaced population represents 15% of Ukraine's general population and has slightly grown from the end of June when IOM assessed the number of IDPs at about 6.3 million. The recent movements were predominantly recorded from the east, south and north of Ukraine," IOM said in the survey.
At the same time, 5.5 million people who were previously displaced have returned home. Most of them were displaced within Ukraine and 16% have returned from abroad. The key areas of return are Kyiv city and region, as well as Kharkiv, Odesa and Chernihiv regions.
IOM's survey also revealed pressing needs for winterization assistance among displaced persons, returnees and those who have never left their homes since February 24.
"As many as 44% of all the respondents said they need support with heat-preserving repairs, such as fixing and replacing windows, to stay safe during winter. More than one fourth of displaced persons fear needing to leave their current accommodation due to insufficient heating ahead of winter," IOM said, Ukraine-Interfax reports.
