Background. To mitigate the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to develop an effective national policy and administrative framework that will promote regulated circular labor migration while maximizing the benefits of its effective organization and strengthening measures to protect Ukrainian citizens abroad and foreign migrants in Ukraine, creating conditions for the reintegration of Ukrainian migrants. The aim of the article is to study the changes in global migration flows due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of providing a scientific basis for reforming national migration policy. Materials and methods. In the course of the research the methods of statistical analysis, synthesis, grouping and graphical representation of the results have been used. Results. As a result of the analysis it is determined that the main trends in population migration in the world are: the largest share of the population migrating from developing countries to developed countries; continued increase in forced migration due to conflict, harassment, violence or human rights violations; most international migrants in the world live in a small number of countries; international migration often remains within the main regions; the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed the growth of international migrants and millions of people have lost their jobs and returned home during lockdowns in destination countries, where the economic downturn is also continuing and unemployment is rising. It has been proven that the most favourable conditions for migrant workers, which proved to be the most vulnerable category during the pandemic, were created by European governments. The main preconditions for mass external labor migration from Ukraine are identified: dissatisfaction of Ukrainian citizens with wages, working conditions or vacancies, lack of jobs, socio-economic crisis, decline in production, lack of identified prospects and opportunities for development and self-realization. It is substantiated that the COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly affect migration flows from Ukraine – the return of citizens did not become large-scale, the amount of remittances from abroad decreased slightly. Conclusion. In the future, the COVID-19 pandemic will have a short-term impact on external labor migration from Ukraine. With the spread of the disease, the intensity of Ukrainians going to work abroad will decrease, but if the epidemic ends, the flow will resume quickly. Even if the pandemic causes a global economic crisis and the demand for workers falls, the work of Ukrainian citizens will still be in demand by European countries for economic recovery. Therefore, the state migration policy at the present stage should be aimed at expanding opportunities for Ukrainians to legally work abroad, maintaining closer contacts with those who are in other countries, as well as encouraging citizens to work in Ukraine and convincing them of the expediency of return.
COVID-19 Crisis and Labor Migration Policy: A Perspective From Estonia