Seasonal Work Is Losing Popularity – New Trends in Ukrainian Employment in Poland

Ukrainians in Poland are increasingly searching for job opportunities that offer stable, long-term employment in one place. This is shown by internal research conducted by Gremi Personal, an international employment agency.

According to the study, 76% of surveyed Ukrainians had already worked in Poland before, with only one in four arriving for the first time. By comparison, in 2018, first-time arrivals accounted for approximately 37%.

Alongside the growing number of Ukrainians returning to Poland, the share of those who changed jobs only 1–2 times also increased, reaching 66%. Those who changed jobs more than three times account for 30%, while 4% of respondents said they had changed jobs more than 5 times.

Exactly half of those surveyed (50%) have been living in Poland for one to three years. 42% arrived less than a year ago, and only 8% settled here more than five years ago.

According to Gremi Personal data, the most common arrivals to Poland come from Ukrainian cities with populations of up to 50,000 – 36%. Those from cities with populations between 50,000 and 100,000 account for 29%. Workers from cities of 100,000 to 500,000 make up 18%, and those from cities over 500,000 – 17%.

"Some people, as before, still come for seasonal work, but their numbers have decreased significantly over the past year and a half. There is a growing trend of carefully and thoroughly reviewing job offers that allow working in one place for an extended period of time," says Anna Dżobolda, Head of the Recruitment Department.

The vast majority of low-skilled workers find employment in meat and fish processing, bakeries, food service establishments, warehouses, fruit and vegetable freezing plants, electronics component manufacturing, construction materials production, and more.

"At the same time, Ukrainians are becoming increasingly selective in their job search in Poland. We continue to observe shifting trends in the employment market. There is growing demand in Poland for highly qualified specialists from Ukraine – currently among the most sought-after positions are: Sales Director, Recruitment Director, Marketing Director, Business Analyst, Investment Analyst, and Operations Director. And this list goes on," concludes Anna Dżobolda.

About* Gremi Personal is an international employment agency with 15 years of market experience. It ranks among the TOP-3 employment companies in Poland and operates 18 offices across Polish cities. The agency specialises in placing Ukrainians (90%) and workers from Central Asia and other Eastern European countries (10%). The agency places approximately 20,000 foreign workers annually at 350 companies throughout Poland. The company's monthly turnover is approximately 20 million PLN, totalling 240 million PLN, or over 50 million 758 thousand dollars per year. The owner is Yevhen Kirichenko, originally from Kherson. The company employs more than 350 staff members, also predominantly Ukrainian.