Labor market in Poland has experienced major changes over the last years. The main shifts concern the total number of employees, remote work, and professional activity among foreigners, people receiving retirement pension, and women receiving 500 plus benefit.
According to Business Insider, these are five trends in employment sector at the moment:
In Q1 of 2023, there were more than 17 million workers for the first time in the history of Polish economy (see the chart above). During the last three years, the number of employees grew by 790.5 thousand, which is more than the population of the second most populous city in Poland, Krakow.
By the end of May 2023, the number of foreign workers reached 1.09 million, which means that it increased nearly 10 times since 2013. It is worth mentioning that Ukrainian citizens accounted for less than 75% of all foreigners legally working in Poland.
Over the last 10 years, the percentage of working pensioners grew by 2.5 percentage points (280.5 thousand people). For many, earning extra money is necessary to deal with the soaring cost of living. In December 2022, the average pension was EUR 662 per month, while in July 2023 the minimum wage was raised to EUR 805. Additionally, people receiving retirement pensions are motivated to continue working by the fact that each year of professional activity increases their monthly benefit.
Another important trend is the growing employment among women receiving 500 plus benefit (EUR 112 paid monthly for every child under 18 years old, regardless of family income). Between Q1 of 2019 and Q1 of 2023, the professional activity of these women jumped by over 15 percentage points and reached 81.7%. For comparison, in the first available study (Q4 of 2017), professional activity among women receiving the benefit was only 67%.
The last of the observed changes concern a new approach to the place of work. By the end of Q1 of 2023, 1.2 million people in Poland worked remotely on a permanent basis (7.1% of total employees). Additionally, over 2.3 million people (13.9% of total employees) worked in a hybrid form. To compare, in 2019 the share of people working from home did not exceed 5%.
Source: Business Insider
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