The outflow of Ukrainian male workers has hit the economies of European countries.

Construction sites, factory assembly lines, and warehouses across Central Europe are scrambling to fill vacancies after tens of thousands of Ukrainian men returned to Ukraine to defend it from Russian aggression, Reuters writes. The outflow of Ukrainian personnel has sharply increased the labor shortage in some of the most industrialized countries in Europe. Its primary impact is in the construction, automotive, and heavy industry sectors. The outflow of workers has led to increased costs and delays in production orders and construction work. Before the Russian invasion, Ukrainians were the largest group of foreign workers in Central Europe. According to industry trade groups, about 600,000 Ukrainians worked in Poland and over 200,000 in the Czech Republic.