Poland's Lowest Unemployment Rate in 32 Years: How Many Ukrainian Refugees Found Work

Poland's unemployment rate in July stood at 4.9%. This is the lowest figure since the fall of the communist regime and the beginning of market reforms in the country.

Since the start of the full-scale war, 372,000 Ukrainian refugees have found employment in Poland.

The largest numbers are working in the following voivodeships: Masovian (82,800), Lower Silesian (39,500), Łódź (36,400), and Greater Poland (34,500). This is reported by the analytical centre of the international employment agency Gremi Personal, citing the Ministry of Family and Social Policy of the Republic of Poland.

At the same time, Tomasz Bogdewicz, CEO of Gremi Personal, highlights that compared to 2021, demand for vacancies at the agency from Polish nationals has increased by 9%, including for positions traditionally filled by workers from Ukraine.

There are several explanations for this growth: first — the rising cost of living in Poland, high inflation (according to European Commission forecasts, annual inflation in Poland will reach 12.2%), and increasing mortgage rates.

"We are also noticing that Polish workers are beginning to take on jobs they previously paid little attention to — for example, in the food industry and logistics. There is a certain paradox here: in times of economic hardship, unemployment typically rises, yet we are seeing the opposite — unemployment is falling to record lows," — adds Bogdewicz.