Labour market information: Poland

National Level

Labour market in Poland

With a result of 73.6% (2020), Poland is one of the EU-27 Member States that achieved an employment level in the 20–64 age group in line with the targets set by the European Commission for 2020. In 2021, this indicator increased to 75.4%, compared to the EU average of 73.1%. In general, the main indicators describing the situation in the labour market in Poland improved year on year, and our distance from the EU average has been steadily decreasing. The positive growth tendencies slowed down in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions imposed on economies as a consequence. However, contrary to concerns about the expected labour market crisis, only a slowdown in the growth of its main indicators was observed.

In 2021, the economic activity rate in the 15–64 age group was 72.8% and it increased by 1.8 percentage points compared with the previous year. At the same time, the employment rate in this group increased by 1.6 percentage points to 70.3%. It is noteworthy that already in 2018, Poland exceeded the national target in the Europe 2020 strategy for the employment rate for the 20–64 age group, which is set at 71%. In 2018, the employment rate for persons aged 20–64 in Poland was 72.2%, in 2019 it increased to 73%, in 2020 – to 73.6% and in 2021 it reached 75.4%. By contrast, in 2021, the unemployment rate stood at 3.4%, with a 0.2% increase per year. As regards the unemployment rate, it is important to note that while upon its accession to the EU Poland was the country with the highest unemployment rate in the EU, that rate has remained below the EU average since 2012, and we have ranked among the countries with the lowest unemployment rate for several years now. It should be noted that the rates in question improved in Poland in 2020 in comparison to 2019, despite the ongoing pandemic, even though across the EU-27 the rates recorded a deterioration in this respect.

According to Eurostat data, in May 2022, Poland was the second country (after Czechia) with the lowest unemployment rate in the EU (the harmonised unemployment rate for persons aged 15-74), reaching the rate of 2.7% against 6.1% in the EU-27 and 6.6% in the euro area.

In the years 2014–2019, the level of registered unemployment continued to decrease in Poland. In 2018, for the first time since 1991, the number of unemployed persons decreased to less than 1 million at the end of the year and affected 968 900 persons (a drop by 10.4% compared to the previous year), while the registered unemployment rate decreased to 5.8%.

A record low number was registered as unemployed at labour offices in October 2019 (840 500 persons). At the time, the registered unemployment rate was 5.0%. At the end of 2019, the number of unemployed persons stood at 866 400, while the unemployment rate was 5.2%. A further decline in the registered unemployment rate was halted by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions imposed on the economy. Thus, at the end of 2020, the number of unemployed persons registered at labour offices increased to 1 046 400, and the registered unemployment rate increased to 6.3%. Once the economy began to recover after the lifting of lockdowns and restrictions in Poland, the situation in the labour market started to stabilise in 2021. The worrying reactions and announcements of redundancies from employers clearly weakened. Measures proposed by the Polish government as part of the ‘Anti-Crisis Shield’ undoubtedly contributed to that situation. In view of the above, registered unemployment growth has slowed down and since March 2021 both the number of unemployed persons registered at labour offices and the registered unemployment rate have, in principle, been getting lower with each month (except for the turn of a year).

The registered unemployment rate at the end of June 2022 was historically low – 4.9%, and it was lower by 1.1 percentage points than in the previous year. The number of registered unemployed persons was the lowest since August 1990, with 818 000 persons recorded in the registers. When comparing the unemployment rate as of the end of June 2022 to the number of unemployed persons registered at the end of February 2020, i.e. before the state of epidemic emergency was declared in Poland, the level of unemployment decreased by 101 800 persons (i.e. by 11.1%), and the registered unemployment rate was lower by 0.6 percentage point.

At the end of June 2022, there were 33 000 persons registered at labour offices who had been made redundant for reasons related to the employer’s establishment, compared to 43 900 a year earlier.

At the end of June 2022, there were 113 300 unemployed persons registered at labour offices and entitled to unemployment benefits, representing 13.9% of the total number of registered unemployed persons. Over a year, the group of unemployed persons entitled to benefits decreased by 23 800 persons, i.e. by 17.3%.

Territorial disparities in terms of unemployment have been considerable in Poland for years. This is due to imbalances in both the socio-economic development of regions and their geographical location. The territorial disparities, measured by the difference between the lowest and highest unemployment rate, varied. At the end of June 2022, the difference between the lowest and highest unemployment rate in provinces was 4.9 percentage points. (Wielkopolskie Province 2.7%, Warmińsko-Mazurskie Province 7.6%).

Links:

Public Employment Services Portal – labour market	https://psz.praca.gov.pl/rynek-pracy/
Occupational Barometer	https://barometrzawodow.pl/
Statistics Poland (Główny Urząd Statystyczny) – labour market	https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/rynek-pracy/

The labour demand survey conducted by the Statistics Poland (Główny Urząd Statystyczny) among entities employing at least one person shows that 582 700 new jobs were created in Poland in 2021, the majority of which were jobs in the private sector (91.7%). Most new jobs were created in the smallest enterprises, employing up to 9 people (42.3%), followed by enterprises employing more than 50 people (28.9%) and units employing between 10 and 49 people (28.8%). In 2021, the average number of vacancies in Poland amounted to 136 000, which was 63.1% more than in 2020. In 2021, the highest number of vacancies was recorded at the end of the third quarter – 153 500, and the lowest number was recorded at the end of the first quarter – 110 200.

On average, most of the vacancies in 2021 were available in the following PKD (Polish Classification of Activities) sections: industry (32 900, i.e. 24.2% of available vacancies), construction (20 100, i.e. 14.8%), and trade and repair of motor vehicles (16 000, i.e. 11.8%).

The above survey also shows that most vacancies in 2021 were recorded in the following occupational groups: professionals (approx. 23.6%), craft and related trades workers (approx. 22.6%), plant and machine operators and assemblers (approx. 17.3%), technicians and associate professionals (approx. 9.6%), clerical support workers (8.7%), and service and sales workers (7.5%).

The labour demand survey shows that in 2021, just under 14% of vacancies were reported to labour offices, with almost 28% of offers reported in the accommodation and food services section, more than 23% in the education section and only 0.8% in the information and communication section.

Data collected by labour offices show that, in 2021, the highest numbers of job vacancies and activation offers reported to labour offices were recorded in the following PKD (Polish Classification of Activities) sections:

administrative and support service activities – 385 800 job offers;
manufacturing – 309 700 job offers;
wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, including motorcycles – 126 700 job offers;
construction – 121 300 job offers;
transportation and storage – 89 200 job offers.

In 2021, the highest number of job vacancies and activation offers reported to labour offices were recorded for the following occupations:

other manufacturing labourers – 77 800 job offers;
other elementary workers not elsewhere classified – 68 300 job offers;
hand packer – 50 000 job offers;
building caretaker – 37 500 job offers;
building construction workers – 34,600 job offers;
stock clerk – 34 400 job offers;
warehouse labourers – 28 900 job offers;
processing industry labourer – 27 500 job offers;
other general office clerks – 23 300 job offers.

Based on the results of the 2022 Occupational Barometer at the national level, conducted at the request of the Minister for Family and Social Policy, 30 shortage occupations were identified in all districts in the country.

These shortage occupations include:

9 construction occupations: concrete placers and finishers, pavers, carpenters and joiners, construction roofers and sheet-metal workers, construction installation assemblers, bricklayers and plasterers, earthmoving plant operators and mechanics, building finishers and building workers;
6 medical and care occupations: physiotherapists and massage therapists, medical doctors, carers of older persons or persons with disabilities, nurses and midwives, ambulance workers, psychologists and psychotherapists;
5 manufacturing occupations: electricians, electrical equipment repairers and installers, metalworking machine operators, wood treaters and cabinet makers, welders, toolmakers;
4 TSL (transport, shipping, logistics) occupations: bus drivers, heavy truck and semi-trailer truck drivers, stock clerks, motor vehicle mechanics and repairers;
food and food service occupations: cooks, bakers;
educational occupations: vocational training teachers, teachers of vocational subjects;
financial occupations: independent accountants, accounting and bookkeeping clerks.

138 occupations were considered balanced at the national level. Tailors and garment workers moved from shortage occupations to balanced occupations, while economists joined surplus occupations. The latter group, however, was diminished by psychologists and psychotherapists as well as accounting and bookkeeping clerks, who were in a shortage in 2022.

In 2022, a balanced and stable situation in the labour market could be observed: first and foremost in the case of insurance agents (balance forecast in 373 out of 380 districts), cultural entertainers and event organisers (balance forecast in 370 districts), photographers (367 districts) and recreational and sports trainers (365 districts).

The fact that a given occupational group remains a shortage group or remains balanced in the labour market at the national level does not mean that the same trend can be observed in all provinces. The situation in this regard remains diverse.

According to the Occupational Barometer survey, surplus occupations should not appear on a national scale in 2022, although surpluses may occur locally, both at the provincial and district levels.

Dolnośląskie

The Dolnośląskie Province is situated in the south-west Poland, sharing borders with Germany and Czechia. It covers a surface area of 19 947 km². The province has a population of 2 880 400. Women constitute 52% of the total population, and 68.1% of the population lives in cities. There are 91 towns and cities in the region, the largest being its capital, Wrocław (642 700 inhabitants).

Dolnośląskie Province’s advantage is a modern and dynamically developing economy, combining industrial traditions with state-of-the-art technologies. The region’s economic development is mainly based on a qualified and educated workforce, natural resources and investors. In addition, the special industrial zones offer favourable conditions for investing in the region. Lower Silesia is an automotive industry region, a leading manufacturer of porcelain, crystal, pharmaceutical and electronic products, as well as an important road, rail, air and waterway transportation hub. The headquarters of KGHM Polska Miedź SA, a leader in the global copper markets, are located there. There are many businesses with foreign capital in Lower Silesia, such as: Toyota, Volvo, Volkswagen, Bosch, PepsiCo, LG, McCain, HP, Amazon, the Service Centre for Aircraft Engines (Centrum Serwisowania Silników Lotniczych), in which the main investors are Lufthansa Technik and GE Aviation, set up near Środa Śląska, and a factory producing electric vehicle engines and batteries near Jawor, owned by Mercedes.

In 2021, the average employment level in the business sector stood at 483 900 persons, which was 0.5% higher than in the previous year. An increase in average employment was recorded in 7 sections, the largest in information and communication (by 5.1%) and in transportation and storage (by 2.7%). Employment decreased in 7 sections, mostly in accommodation and food service activities (by 8.3%) and other service activities (by 5.6%). One of the major driving forces behind the economy in the Dolnośląskie Province is the hospitality industry, which is one of the industries most affected by the epidemic.

The consequences of the epidemic added to the already recognized problems faced by undertakings.. The recent years have witnessed a decreasing importance of small enterprises and an increasing concentration of employment in medium-sized and large entities. A typical feature of the last year is also a huge demand for seasonal workers, especially in construction.

At the end of June 2022, 54 037 persons were registered as unemployed at district labour offices in the Dolnośląskie Province, of these, women accounted for 54.1%. This is 12 677 fewer people than at the end of June 2021, a decrease of 19 percentage points by one year. The recorded decrease is a result of the easement of COVID19 restrictions in Poland. The registered unemployment rate in the province was 4.4% (4.9% overall in Poland).

2022 brings further changes to the economic situation and the labour market of the province caused by the war in Ukraine, i.e. mainly a mass influx of people fleeing Ukraine, an increase in fuel prices, shortages in the raw materials market and some commodities due to restrictions on Russia and Belarus, an increase in inflation and an increase in interest rates.

Links:

Provincial Labour Office in Lower Silesia	www.dwup.pl
Statistics and analyses – Dolnośląskie Province	https://wupdolnoslaski.praca.gov.pl/rynek-pracy/statystyki-i-analizy/
Occupational Barometer – Dolnośląskie Province	www.barometrzawodow.pl
Statistical Office in Wrocław	https://wroclaw.stat.gov.pl/

Kujawsko-Pomorskie

The Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province is located in the central part of Poland and covers a surface area of 18 000 km², which constitutes 5.7% of the country’s surface area. It has 2 047 900 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2021), with 59% of the population living in cities. The region has two capitals: Bydgoszcz, the seat of the majority of public administration offices, and Toruń, where the local government administration offices are located. Besides Bydgoszcz and Toruń, the province’s major cities are Włocławek, Grudziądz and Inowrocław. These cities are also important industrial hubs in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province, representing primarily the food industry, closely linked to the province’s raw material base, followed by the chemical, electromechanical, textile, cellulose and printing industries. The fast-growing BPO/SSC sector, renewable energy sources and agriculture are also of great importance for the province’s economy. The province’s industrial development is boosted by its central location and a well-developed communication network. Tourism and recreation industries are developing thanks to natural resources (healing waters and health resorts, e.g. in Ciechocinek, Inowrocław and Wieniec Zdrój) and architectural landmarks (Toruń is on the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List). The province is home to excellent scientific and research facilities with the Nicolaus Copernicus University (Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika) in Toruń, the University of Science and Technology in Bydgoszcz (Politechnika Bydgoska) and the Kazimierz Wielki University (Uniwersytet Kazimierza Wielkiego) in Bydgoszcz, as well as centres supporting the development of modern solutions for industry, such as the Centre for Technology Transfer (Centrum Transferu Technologii) and Exea Data Centre, both based in Toruń.

At the end of June 2022, the number of national economy entities in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province amounted to 216 644 and was 1.9% higher than in the previous year. Of the entities newly registered in June 2022, 22.5% were from the construction section and 14.7% from the trade section; repair of motor vehicles. In June 2022, the number of new entities registered in the REGON register was 4% more than in the previous year. The most important enterprises which represent the region’s key sectors include: Zakłady Azotowe Anwil S.A. (Włocławek), Mondi Świecie S.A – chemical industry; Grupa TZMO (Toruń) – chemical and pharmaceutical industry; Pojazdy Szynowe Pesa Bydgoszcz (Bydgoszcz), Apator S.A., (Toruń) – electrical engineering; Zakłady Tłuszczowe Kruszwica S.A. (Kruszwica), Krajowa Spółka Cukrowa S.A. (Toruń), Cereal Partners Poland Toruń-Pacific Sp. z o.o. (Toruń), Fabryka Cukiernicza Kopernik S.A. (Toruń) – food industry; ThyssenKrupp Materials Poland S.A. (Toruń), Nova Trading S.A. (Chojnice) – metal industry; ALSTAL Construction Group (Bydgoszcz), SOLBET Sp. z o.o. (Solec Kujawski) – construction industry; Lewiatan Holding S.A. (Włocławek), Oponeo PL S.A. (Toruń), Polomarket (Giebnia) – retail trade; Neuca (Toruń) – pharmaceutical industry; Chemirol Sp. z o.o. (Mogilno), Agrolok Sp. z o.o. (Golub-Dobrzyń) – agricultural supply; Atos IT Services Sp. z o.o., Nokia Bydgoszcz, Mobica Limited Sp. z o.o. (Bydgoszcz), Opus Capita Sp. z o.o. (Toruń) – BPO/SSC industry.

At the end of June 2022, the unemployment rate in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province was 6.9%(8.4% in June 2021). In particular districts, the unemployment rate in the discussed period was as follows: Bydgoszcz Grodzki – 2.1 %, Bydgoszcz Ziemski – 3.0 %, Grudziądz Grodzki – 10,6%, Grudziądz Ziemski – 11.3%, Toruń Grodzki – 3.5 %, Toruń Ziemski – 8.7 %, Włocławek Grodzki – 8.0%, Włocławek Ziemski – 11.2%, Aleksandrów Kujawski – 10,6%, Brodnica – 5.7 %, Chełmno – 11,5%, Golub – Dobrzyń 9,9%, Inowrocław – 10,7%, Lipno – 10.4%, Mogilno – 8.9%, Nakło nad Notecią – 10.2%, Radziejów – 12,9%, Rypin – 7.3%, Sępólno Krajeńskie – 9.8%, Świecie – 5.3%, Tuchola – 9.1%, Wąbrzeźno – 10.5%, Żnin – 7.7%. The economic activity rate in the first quarter of 2022 stood at 57.6% (58% for Poland), the employment rate was at 55.1% (56.2% for Poland) and the unemployment rate according to the LFS – at 4.3% (3.1% for Poland).

2021 brought relative stability in the labour market despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Economic activity in many industries, mainly in the service sector, resumed. Consequently, some workers who had lost their jobs returned to the labour market. At the end of 2021, the number of registered unemployed persons in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province, compared with the previous year, decreased by 15.8% to 61 800 persons. In the structure of unemployed persons, a significant decrease was observed (38.1% less than in 2020) in the share of persons dismissed for reasons related to the employer’s establishment, as well as unemployed without professional qualifications and young unemployed up to the age of 25 (24.9%). In June 2022, 55 547 unemployed persons were registered in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province, 18.8% less than a year ago.

Links:

Provincial Labour Office in Toruń	http://wuptorun.praca.gov.pl/
Statistics and analyses – Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province	https://wuptorun.praca.gov.pl/statystyki-i-analizy-urzedu
Occupational Barometer – Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province	https://barometrzawodow.pl/modul/publikacje
Statistical Office in Bydgoszcz	https://bydgoszcz.stat.gov.pl

In 2021, employers reported 70 131 job vacancies and activation offers to labour offices. Throughout the year, the number of vacancies and activation offers increased by 34%. Vacancies and activation offers available through district labour offices were most often for elementary workers (29.4%) and craft and related trades workers (20.8%). In 2021, building caretakers were the most frequently sought after. They accounted for 5.5% of vacancies and occupational activation places.

The labour demand survey shows that in the fourth quarter of 2021, there were 4 100 vacancies in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province. Manufacturing (31.7%) had the highest number of vacancies in this period. The other sections of the strongest job vacancies in 2021 were wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, including motorcycles (14.1%) and construction (14.4%).

The results of the Occupational Barometer survey show that shortages of workers are expected in the following industries in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province in 2022:

industrial sector: electricians, electrical equipment repairers and installers, tailors and garment workers, stock clerks, metalworking machine operators, wood treaters and cabinet makers, welders, toolmakers;
transport: heavy truck and semi-trailer truck drivers, bus drivers, motor vehicle mechanics and repairers, and automotive sheet-metal workers and spray painters and varnishers;
construction: concrete placers and finishers, pavers, carpenters and joiners, construction roofers and sheet-metal workers, construction installation assemblers, bricklayers and plasterers, earthmoving plant operators and mechanics, building finishers and building workers;
medical and care industry: physiotherapists and massage therapists, medical doctors, nurses and midwives, psychologists and psychotherapists, paramedical practitioners, carers of older persons or persons with disabilities;
education: foreign language teachers, teachers of general subjects, vocational training teachers, teachers of vocational subjects;
food service: cooks, chefs.

In most cases, job applicants in the above industries are required to have current certification (including welding, electrical certifications, Driving Certificate of Professional Competency) and medical certificates. A lack of professional experience or a long professional break and the resultant obsolescence of qualifications are an obstacle to taking up employment for many jobseekers in technical professions. Persons seeking employment in the above industries are also often expected to be ready to work in difficult conditions (the metal industry), have knowledge of modern technologies and foreign languages, and be flexible.

Lubelskie

The Lubelskie Region is located in the central-eastern part of Poland. The Region’s industrial development is poor, but it is an important agricultural production centre. It borders Podlaskie, Mazowieckie, Świętokrzyskie and Podkarpackie regions. The Lubelskie Province borders Belarus and Ukraine. It is the third largest region in Poland, with an area of 25 100 km². The population density is 83 persons per km², compared with the national average of 122 persons per km². In terms of population, the Lubelskie Province ranked ninth in Poland, with the share of urban dwellers in the total population standing at 14. The Lubelskie Province is divided into 24 districts. There are a total of 213 municipalities in the Lubelskie Province, including 20 urban municipalities, 163 rural municipalities and 30 urban and rural municipalities. The Lubelskie Province is one of four Polish provinces where more than half of the population live in rural areas. The city of Lublin is the province’s administrative centre. Other major towns in the region are Chełm, Zamość and Biała Podlaska.

At the end of December 2021, the Lubelskie Province had a population of 2 076 382, i.e. 5.5% of the total population of Poland. The statistics show a decreasing trend in the region’s population. At the end of 2021, more women lived in the Lubelskie Province, constituting 51.5% of the province’s total population. Another characteristic feature is a relatively low level of urbanisation. The most urbanised districts were: Świdnik (an urban population of 57.5%), Puławy (47.3%) and Ryki (45.6%) Disctricts. The lowest share of inhabitants of towns and cities was recorded in Chełm Disctrict (9.9%) and Lublin District (7%).

The labour demand survey shows that at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, the number of employedpersons stood at 465 800. Nearly two-thirds (64.3%) of these persons were employed in the private sector, while 35.7% were employed in the public sector. 53.7% of employed persons worked in large enterprises, 26.6% – in medium-sized enterprises and 19.7% – in small enterprises. Most people worked in entities from the following sections: manufacturing (20.8%), trade, repair of motor vehicles (14.9%) and education (13.9%).

As of the end of June 2022, 61 342 unemployed persons were registered at labour offices, including 31 326 women (51.1%). The unemployment rate was 6.6%, which was 1.7% higher than the national rate of 4.9%. The highest unemployment rate was in the following districts: Włodawa (13.2%), Hrubieszów (11%) and Krasnystaw (10.6%), and the lowest in the following districts: Łuków (3.1%), Biłogoraj (4.2%) and Lublin (4.5%). 5 916 unemployed persons (i.e. 9.6%), including 3 236 women, were entitled to benefits. The Lubelskie Province is a region that is considered poorly urbanised and underdeveloped industrially. Nevertheless, it is an important centre of agricultural production, especially in the new direction of organic farming. This is evidenced by the large land resources, a high share of the agricultural population and significant agricultural production on the national scale. Organic farming is a new and fast-growing direction of farming in the region. The food industry, including fruit and vegetable, sugar, dairy, milling, brewing or tobacco industry, plays an important role in this province. Moreover, apiculture and the herbal sector are of great importance. Apart from the agri-food sector, the mining industry also plays a significant part. The Bogdanka hard coal mine is located in the eastern part of the Lublin Upland. There are also many cement plants and building material plants manufacturing traditional bricks and clinker bricks, cellular concrete and precast concrete products. Natural mineral waters, the pride of the Nałęczów health resort, are the natural wealth of the region. The region’s economy also covers chemical industry, timber and furniture industry, metal and machine-building industry, including the aerospace industry in Świdnik.

The major employers in the Lubelskie Province include: EMPERIA HOLDING – a network of food wholesalers, the capital group Black Red White – a furniture manufacturer, Genpact Poland Spółka z o.o., Lubelski Węgiel Bogdanka S.A. – a hard coal producer for energy purposes; Lubella FOOD S.A. – one of the largest national leaders in the production of flour, pasta and salt sticks; Sipma – producer of agricultural and horticultural machinery, PGE Dystrybucja, Zakłady Azotowe Puławy S.A – the leader of the Polish chemical and fertilizer industry in the production of nitrogen fertilizers for agriculture, Zakłady Mięsne Łuków S.A., Zakład Mięsny ‘Wierzejki’, Herbapol Lublin S.A. – producer of herbal products, table syrups and tea, POL-SKONE Sp. z o.o. – a joinery company, producer of wooden doors and windows, Wytwórnia Sprzętu Komunikacyjnego ‘PZL-Świdnik’ S.A. – a manufacturer of aircraft and helicopters, Perła Browary Lubelskie, Stanchem Sp. z o.o. Przedsiębiorstwo Chemiczne, Spółdzielnia Mleczarska Spomlek in Radzyń Podlaski, Okręgowa Spółdzielnia Mleczarska in Krasnystaw, Spółdzielnia Mleczarska in Ryki, Fabryka Łożysk Tocznych in Kraśnik, and Nałęczowianka Sp. z o.o – a mineral water producer; Model Opakowania Sp. z o.o – corrugated board manufacturing plant, Fabryka Kabli ELPAR Sp. z o.o. in Parczew.

When compared to other regions in the country, the Lubelskie Province is relatively mildly affected by the pandemic-related crisis. The first two months of the pandemic, with little knowledge of the coronavirus, were the hardest and created a lot of uncertainty. As time passed, most employers managed to implement sanitary regime rules, and remote work as a solution to minimise the risk of virus transmission without the work being disrupted.

During the pandemic, the Lubelskie Province was one of the six where the unemployment rate decreased – if we consider March 2020 (the beginning of the pandemic) and December 2021. In March 2020, the unemployment rate was 7.6% and it decreased by 0.4% compared with December 2021 (7.2%). Other provinces that noted the decrease of this indicator were Warmińsko-Mazurskie, Świętokrzyskie, Lubuskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie and Podlaskie Provinces. It is noteworthy that the Lubelskie Province had the third highest decrease in Poland. However, if we refer to the rate for June 2022 as compared to March 2020, it fell by 1 percentage point and was one of the six highest drops in provinces.

Throughout the pandemic, employers continued to focus on maintaining existing jobs and limiting the number of new admissions to work. This situation is confirmed by data on the number of job offers reported to the Public Employment Service. 40 066 job offers were reported to district labour offices in the Lubelskie Province in 2020, which represents 81% of the number of job offers reported in 2019 (49 210 offers). It can be noted that in 2021, the number of job offers increased again to 47 761, similar to the number of offers before the pandemic (2019). However, it should be emphasised that job offers appearing at labour offices represent only a small part of job offers appearing on the market. In addition, the trend in the decreasing number of job offers reported to the Public Employment Services has been persistent for several years.

An additional factor confirming that employers, at least at the beginning of the pandemic, wanted to keep existing jobs, rather than hire new staff, was the use of the introduced ‘Anti-Crisis Shield’. Over the two-year period, 8 492 aid applications were submitted, and 5 562 applications were paid for a total amount of PLN 466 610 461.02. 105 668 employees were included in successful applications. Improvements in the labour market were largely due to easing restrictions, including no lockdown renawals.

Links:

Provincial Labour Office in Lublin	http://.wuplublin.praca.gov.pl
Statistics and analyses – Lubelskie Province	https://wuplublin.praca.gov.pl/rynek-pracy/statystyki-i-analizy/
Labour Market Observatory of Lubelskie Province	https://wuplublin.praca.gov.pl/rynek-pracy/statystyki-i-analizy/lorp
Occupational Barometer – Lubelskie Province	https://barometrzawodow.pl
Statistical Office in Lublin	http://www.stat.gov.pl/lublin

Lubuskie

The Lubuskie Province is located in central-western Poland (it borders Germany to the west). It occupies a surface area of nearly 14 000 km² and is the 13th largest region in Poland. In terms of population, with 991 200 inhabitants, the province ranks penultimate in the country. Women constitute 51.4% of the total population, while men constitute 48.6%. Rural areas are home to 35.4% of the total population; urban areas are home to 64.6%. The pre-working age population accounted for 18.1% of the province’s population. The working-age population accounted for 59.3%, and the remaining 22.6% was the post-working age population.

The Lubuskie Province is a moderately industrialised region. A characteristic feature of the region’s economy is the presence of industrial plants of different sizes, with the prevalence of small and medium-sized enterprises. A total of 264 100 persons were employed in the Lubuskie Province at the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, which was an increase of 2.2% compared with the previous year. Most people worked in the following sections: manufacturing (28.0%), wholesale and retail trade (16.0%), education (10.0%), transportation and storage (8.5%), human health and social work activities (8.1%), construction (5.6%), public administration and defence (5.3%). Important industrial production sectors include manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, manufacture of products of wood, cork, straw and plaiting materials, manufacture of food products. Manufacturers of paper and paper products, as well as of metal products, also play a significant role. At the end of 2021, 1 621 companies with foreign equity participation were registered in the Lubuskie Province, including 1 508 limited liability companies. The companies with foreign equity participation in the Lubuskie Province represented 2.2% of all companies with foreign equity participation in Poland. In this respect, Lubuskie Province ranks 10th in the country. The major employers in the region are Kronopol Sp z o.o. in Żary, Arctic Paper Kostrzyń S.A. in Kostrzyn, Relpol S.A. GK in Żary, Gedia Poland Sp. z o.o. in Nowa Sól, Polmax Polska S.A. in Świebodzin, GK Seco/Warwick S.A. in Świebodzin, Cinkciarz.pl Sp. z o.o. in Zielona Góra, ICT Poland Sp. z o.o. in Kostrzyn, Stelmet S.A. in Zielona Góra, Lubuskie ZAE Lumel S.A. in Zielona Góra, Faurecia in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Iost Polska in Nowa Sól, Adient Poland Sp. z o.o. in Świebodzin, Se Bordnetze Polska Sp. z o.o. in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Alumetal Poland Sp. z o.o. in Nowa Sól, Rockwool Polska Sp. z o.o. in Cigacice, Domo Engineering Plastics Poland Sp. z o.o. in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Elektrociepłownia Zielona Góra S.A. in Zielona Góra, Uni-Truck Sp. z o.o. in Zielona Góra, Homanit Krosno Odrzańskie Sp. z o.o. in Krośno Odrzańskie, Nord Napędy Zakłady Produkcyjne Sp. z o.o. in Nowa Sól, Valmet Automotive Sp. z o.o. in Żary.

At the end of the first quarter of 2022, the economic activity rate was 55.7%. The employment rate stood at 54.5 %. At the end of June 2022, 15 789 unemployed persons were registered at district labour offices. Between June 2021 and June 2022, the number of unemployed persons decreased by 5 837, i.e. by 27%. In the first quarter of 2022, the number of registered unemployed persons decreased by 1.3%, while in the second quarter of 2022, the number of registered unemployed persons decreased by 11.9%. The slight decrease in the first quarter of 2022 was mainly seasonal (winter period) and was slightly associated with the COVID-19 epidemic, with most economic restrictions having been lifted since 1 March 2022.

At the end of June 2022, the unemployment rate was 4.2% (the fourth position in the country) and was lower by 0.7% than the national rate (4.9%). At the end of June 2022, the highest unemployment rate was recorded for the following districts: Strzelce-Drezdenko (7.9%), Zielona Góra (7.3%), Wschowa (6.8%) and Międzyrzecz (6.8%). The lowest unemployment rate was recorded in districts: Słubice (2.2%), Gorzów (2.3%), Świebodzin (2.7%). The unemployment rate recorded in other districts: Zielona Góra (urban district) – 3.2%, Gorzów (rural district) – 3.2%, Sulęcin – 3.7%, Żary – 4.5%, Nowa Sól – 4.6%, Krosno – 5.4% and Żagań – 5.7%. According to the LFS, the unemployment rate for the Lubuskie Province at the end of the first quarter of 2022 cannot be calculated due to random sampling errors.

Links:

Provincial Labour Office in Zielona Góra	www.wupzielonagora.praca.gov.pl
Statistics and analyses – Lubuskie Province	https://wupzielonagora.praca.gov.pl/rynek-pracy/statystyki-i-analizy/
Occupational Barometer – Lubuskie Province	https://barometrzawodow.pl/
Statistical Office in Zielona Góra	https://zielonagora.stat.gov.pl/

2 300 job vacancies were recorded at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, i.e. 76% more than at the end of the previous year. The highest number of vacancies was recorded in the following sections: ‘manufacturing’ (33.4% of the total), ‘transportation and storage’ (13.5%), construction (11.8%) and ‘public administration and defence’ (7.3%).

Most of the vacancies concerned occupations included in the group ‘plant and machine operators and assemblers’ (30.5%), ‘craft and related trades workers’ (29.1%), ‘professionals’ (13.7%), ‘technicians and associate professionals’ (7.9%), ‘clerical support workers’ (7.9%).

From January to June 2022, 20 322 job offers were recorded at labour offices, 12.1% less than in the corresponding period of 2021. Most of them were available for: ‘elementary workers ’ – 7 963 job offers (39.2% of all offers), ‘craft and related trades workers’ – 2 780 job offers (13.7%), ‘service and sales workers’ – 2 463 job offers (12.1%), ‘plant and machine operators and assemblers’ 2 256 job offers (11.1%).

Most job offers were notified for the following elementary occupational groups: manufacturing labourers – 2 571 (12.7% of total offers), labourers working on handling goods – 1 503 offers (7.4%), building caretakers – 930 offers (4.6%), stock clerks and related – 784 offers (3.9%), general office clerks – 748 offers (3.7%), odd job persons – 676 offers (3.3%), hand packers and markers – 601 offers (3.0%), shop sales assistants – 535 offers (2.6%), office, hotel and related cleaners and helpers – 408 offers (2.0%), plastic products machine operators – 364 offers (1.8%), subsistence fishers and gatherers – 356 offers (1,8%), butchers, fishmongers and related food preparers – 316 offers (1.6%). The Occupational Barometer for 2022 forecasts the following shortage occupations in the Lubuskie Province: concrete placers and finishers, biologists, biotechnologists and biomedical scientists, sheet-metal workers and spray painters and varnishers, pavers, carpenters and joiners, confectionery makers, automotive inspectors, electricians, electrical equipment repairers and installers, physiotherapists and massage therapists, hairdressers, environmental engineering engineers, bus drivers, heavy truck and semi-trailer truck drivers, site managers, tailors and garment workers, cooks, medical doctors, mail carriers and couriers, speech therapists and audiologists, stock clerks, machinery mechanics and repairers, motor vehicle mechanics and repairers, construction installation assemblers, bricklayers and plasterers, language teachers and trainers, primary school teachers, vocational training teachers, teachers of general subjects, teachers of vocational subjects, early childhood teachers, teachers of special schools and integrated classes, earthmoving plant operators and mechanics, agricultural and horticultural machinery operators, metalworking machine operators, child carer workers, carers of older persons or persons with disabilities, educational counsellors, bakers, nurses and midwives, financial and accounting clerks with language skills, accounting and bookkeeping clerks, manual and elementary workers, building finishers, uniformed services personnel, social workers, database designers and administrators, software developers, meat and fish processors, psychologists and psychotherapists, paramedical practitioners, building workers, forestry workers, wood treaters and cabinet-makers, independent accountants, welders, human resources and recruitment specialists, electronics, automation and robotics professionals, forwarding agents and supply and distribution agents, sales workers and cashiers, chefs, toolmakers, upholsterers, instructors in educational and care establishments.

Łódzkie

The Łódzkie Region is located in central Poland. It covers an area of 18 218.95 km². According to the data as of 31 December 2021, the population of the Łódzkie Province was 2 416 902, i.e. approx. 6.4% of the total number of Polish residents. The urban population constituted 62.4% of the total population. The largest urban agglomeration is the agglomeration of Łódź, with 664 071 inhabitants as of 31 December 2021.

58 230 unemployed persons were registered at labour offices at the end of June 2022, and the unemployment rate was 5.3% (an increase of 1.0% compared with June 2021). The districts with the highest unemployment rate were: Kutno – 7.3%, Tomaszów and Pajęczno – 6.7%. The districts with the lowest unemployment rate were: Rawa – 2.8%, Skierniewice – 3.1% and Radomsko – 4.2%. The unemployment rate for Łódź stood at 5.6%. According to the LFS, the unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2022 was 4.5%. The employment rate stood at 58.3% (compared with 56.2% for Poland in the first quarter of 2022) and the economic activity rate was 60% (compared with 58.0% for Poland in the first quarter of 2022).

In 2020, the GDP per capita of the Łódzkie Province was PLN 58 840, which constituted 97% of the national average (PLN 60 663 – 5th place in the country). It should be stressed that, in terms of economic development, the Łódzkie Province is gradually narrowing the gap separating it from the EU’s most developed regions.

Apart from the textile and clothing industry, the production of household appliances, construction and biotechnology are also developing in the Łódzkie Province.

industry is the most important economic sector of the Łódzkie Province, contributing greatly to the regional output. The most developed branches of industry are as follows: production of textiles and clothing, mining of lignite, generation and distribution of electricity, production of chemical products, production of food products, production of machinery and equipment, production of electrical equipment and building materials. The industrial sector is clustered around two centres: the Łódź agglomeration, dominated by the textiles and clothing industry, food and food processing industry, electromechanical industry, pharmaceutical industry and chemical industry, and the Piotrków Trybunalski and Bełchatów area, dominated by the mining industry, power generation industry, rubber industry, building materials industry, furniture industry, timber industry, spirits industry, glass industry and pharmaceutical industry.

Despite significant changes in the branch structure of the province’s industry, the textile and clothing industry still holds a leading position in the region’s production. One of the leading companies in this industry is Redan S.A. Other dynamically developing sectors in the Łódzkie region are pharmaceutical industry and wholesale trade in pharmaceutical products. Leading enterprises in this sector include: Pelion Healthcare Group, Adamed Pharma S.A.(Manufacturing facility in Pabianice), Polfa S.A. Pharmaceutical Facility in Kutno, Sensilab Polska Sp. z o.o., MEDANA PHARMA S.A., pharmaceutical facilities and herbal medicine manufacturers: Herbapol Łódź and Agropharm S.A. Tuszyn.

A thriving Slovenian medicine factory, Lek S.A. (member of the Sandoz group), is located in Stryków near Łódź. Another industry developing dynamically in the Łódzkie Province is the manufacture of building materials. The major manufacturer is the Atlas group, a leader in the domestic market and Europe’s third largest manufacturer of construction chemicals.

Building materials are processed in the Łódzkie Province and the region is also taking the lead in the country in the production of ceramic tiles (Ceramika Opoczno, Ceramika Paradyż, Ceramika Tubądzin). The province is also home to companies from the household appliances industry: BSH Sprzęt Gospodarstwa Domowego Sp. z o. o., Whirlpool Company Polska Sp. z o.o. (formerly Indesit). The Łódź Special Economic Zone plays an important role in the province. It brings together more than 100 companies in the following sectors: logistics, pharmaceuticals, plastic processing, BPO (Business Process Outsourcing), domestic appliances, IT, the medical, cosmetics and food industries.

The outsourcing sector (BPO) has seen rapid development in recent years. A 2022 report by the Association of Business Service Leaders in Poland on the development of the BPO/SSC sector in Poland shows that Łódź is one of the six largest BPO centres in the country. According to data for the first quarter of 2022, there were 101 companies providing services in foreign languages in the business services sector, covering BPO, SSC, IT and R&D service centres. Many companies with foreign equity participation operate in the region: Accenture, Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), BMS Poland, Ceri International, Citi, Fujitsu, GE Power Controls, HP, Whirlpool (formerly Indesit), Infosys, Mobica, Nordea, GFT Polska (Rule Financial), Samsung Poland R&D Center, Sii, SouthWestern, Takeda, Tate & Lyle. New investments in the region in this sector: Avent Corporation, Axalta Coating Systems Poland, Gogel Technologies, Marel Shared Services Center, Well Company, XSYS Poland. Most of these companies specialise in IT services, financial and accounting processes, as well as research and development processes and work for companies from all over the world. Persons with foreign language skills are in demand in this sector.

The IT sector is yet another sector gaining relevance in the region (particularly in the city of Łódź). Major employers include: AMG.net, LSI Software, Tomtom, Intersoft, Centrum Komputerowe Zeto, Ericsson (formerly Ericpol), Gromar, Transition Technologies S.A., HP, Xerox, HPCC Herkules PC Components, Farbrity Grupa K2, Xerox (ACS Solutions). Application programmers, ICT systems consultants, computer systems and network engineers, and application enhancement and development professionals are primarily in demand in this industry.

Collective redundancies:

In June 2022, two companies from the Łódzkie Province notified labour offices of their intention to carry out collective redundancies in a total of 232 persons: TomTom Polska Sp. z o.o. from Łódź – 208 persons, and Huta Glass ‘FENIX’ 2 Spółka z o.o. from Piotrków Trybunalski – 24 persons. In June, redundancies took place in two employer’s establishments, as previously announced, resulting in 567 people receiving notices of termination. These were: mFinanze S.A. in Łódź – 500 persons, and ‘TEXTON’ S.A. in Zgierz – 67 persons.

The analysis of unemployment and the number of job offers in the Łódzkie Province shows that the situation in the labour market is slowly stabilising. Still, it is difficult to venture a statement about returning to the normal work system. Employers are facing a number of challenges brought about by the pandemic, which has transformed the labour market. In such circumstances, it is not easy to balance labour supply and demand. There have been regulatory proposals for new organisation of work. The future of employment is moving towards a hybrid and flexible working model. Employees and employers are increasingly turning to remote collaboration with a company located in another locality. Lack of direct contact with the team and the employer translates into feelings of safety – this is an important factor in recent career decisions.

As in times before the virus spread, the problem of meeting staffing needs in companies still persists. It is noteworthy that service industries such as catering or tourism have great difficulties in recruiting staff after the lockdown. Trade and services are slowly beginning to recover, but the perspective of subsequent lockdowns limits their opportunities. There are fewer people willing to work due to low job stability. A large proportion of employees went to employers in other sectors, with a more secure financial situation. Many people, who had lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, found employment in the underground economy, such as seasonal work in agriculture and horticulture.

Companies that want to be competitive have to opt for robotisation and digitisation of production and sales processes. The digital revolution, which was, in a way, imposed by the pandemic, brought two different results: workers to whom digitisation and automation gave jobs, and those, whose tasks were limited by these processes.

The leading role was taken by the industries that had benefited from the pandemic: IT and telecommunications, media, marketing and e-commerce. Economic stability was maintained by manufacturing, construction and TLS companies. These industries are currently experiencing a huge shortage of labour.

However, market imbalances remain: some activities have developed, while many companies cannot overcome the crisis. Small catering outlets or services such as tourism, hairdressing and beauty care, fitness activities; culture and mass events are trying to rebuild their position in the market.

Traineeships and apprenticeships were hit by the pandemic, with companies often opting out from hiring young people starting in the labour market. Employees starting their careers would usually have to change jobs. In such a situation, the winning party was a generation with professional experience and a contract form that protects against sudden loss of work.

The slow reversal of the COVID-19 epidemic has resulted in increased movement in our province's labour market. Resilient employers, but also those returning to the game, are currently experiencing a shortage of labour. Most of the people who had found themselves in a difficult employment situation due to the lockdown took jobs in other industries. However, companies that have suspended their operations due to the pandemic find it difficult to rebuild staff overnight.

Links:

Provincial Labour Office in Łódź	http://wuplodz.praca.gov.pl/
Statistics and analyses – Łódzkie Province	https://wuplodz.praca.gov.pl/rynek-pracy/statystyki-i-analizy/ https://wuplodz.praca.gov.pl/web/rorp/badania-i-raporty
Eurostat	https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tgs00005/default/table?l…
Occupational Barometer – Łódzkie Province	https://barometrzawodow.pl/
Statistical Office in Łódź	http://lodz.stat.gov.pl/

According to the Occupational Barometer survey, the inflow of job offers to the Central Job Offer Database (CBOP) in the second half of 2021 and the first half of 2022 was as follows: manual and elementary workers – 41,245 (28.5%); stock clerks – 14,253 (9.8%), building caretakers, porters, janitors and watch persons – 10,013 (6.9%).

Among the total workforce in the Łódzkie Province, the most numerous occupational groups, as at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023 were specialists, industrial workers and craft workers, as well as technicians and other mid-level personnel.

According to the labour demand survey carried out by the Statistics Poland in 2022, according to the PKD (Polish Classification of Activities) sections and divisions, most jobs in the Łódzkie Province were in ‘manufacturing’ (31.5% of all job offers), followed by ‘construction’ (11.1%), ‘wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, including motorcycles’ (9.3%), ‘transportation and storage’ (9.3%), and ‘health care and social work activities’ (7.4%).

According to the Occupational Barometer for 2023, shortage occupations at the province level are: electricians, electrical equipment repairers and installers, bus drivers, heavy truck and semi-trailer truck drivers, medical doctors, stock clerks, construction installation assemblers, earthmoving plant operators and mechanics, nurses and midwives, accounting and bookkeeping clerks, psychologists and psychotherapists and welders.

By occupation, the largest number of vacancies in the Central Job Offer Database was addressed to manual workers in production and elementary works (28.5% of the total number of offers), followed by stock clerks (9.8%), building caretakers, porters, janitors and watch persons (6.9%), cleaners and helpers (3.5%), administrative and clerical support workers (2.9%), rubber product machine operators (2.8%), meat and fish processors (2.7%), machine and equipment assemblers (2.6%) and construction workers (2.5%).

The available job advertisements are dominated by job descriptions in which employers specify the skills and qualifications needed to work in a specific place. The scope of responsibilities often covers several occupations. Multi-skilling is expected of both high-class specialists in, for example, IT, automation, electronics or business outsourcing, and of persons with lower qualifications, performing work related to services, such as toolmakers-welders, backhoe loader operators, and drivers-suppliers.

Occupational groups most sought after in the Łódzkie Province

Health and medical services

It is difficult to state unequivocally that there are skills deficits in the area of health care. According to the observations of the Łódź Province residents, there is a shortage of medical doctors in hospitals, public health centres. However, these establishments do not have job vacancies and do not submit offers. Albeit, this may be due to the insufficient amount of resources allocated to remuneration available to them. There is an outflow of staff from smaller towns to the Łódź agglomeration due to better earnings or career opportunities (the next level of specialisation may be reached in a different, modern and better-equipped facility offering higher salaries).

Nurses and midwives are the next group of occupations that are strongly in shortage in the labour market in the Łódzkie Province. There is a shortage of staff with up-to-date qualifications that align with the job offer requirements. Similar to medical doctors, also representatives of this group migrate to find more attractive jobs in terms of salary levels and working conditions. The current staff is ageing. Unfortunately, a relatively long and demanding higher education pathway discourages people from taking up this profession – hence, there is increasing talk of rebuilding opportunities for gaining nursing qualifications in high school.

Education

Adopting ideas on the reintegration of students with disabilities in publicly accessible schools makes it necessary to organise special care for these students in such establishments. In these circumstances, it is essential to employ teachers of special schools and integrated classes. Moreover, teachers in science subjects, such as mathematics, physics, chemistry or natural science, are lacking in general education schools. Foreign language teachers and trainers are in demand at state and private schools. There is also a shortage of psychologists and psychotherapists in the school establishments of the province, as well as oligophrenopedagogues.

While the demand for vocational education from the labour market is significant, vocational schools record low interest in training expressed by young people, hence there is a small number of students in these training courses. Teachers of vocational subjects and vocational training teachers are leaving schools. There is also no natural generational change in these specialities. Due to the low teacher salaries, there are no successors to existing positions.

Building occupations

There is a strong shortage of up-to-date qualifications in building occupations. The sector is struggling with a shortage of educated and experienced staff. There is no willingness to perform such hard work. There are shortages not only of new staff but also of reliable vocational education among carpenters and joiners. Jobs of earthmoving plant operators and mechanics have been popular on the province’s labour market for years, requiring up-to-date professional qualifications and health-related fitness due to physical work, which necessitates focus and accuracy. The construction market is also looking for construction installation assemblers, bricklayers and plasterers, and building finishers. People with such qualifications often carry out their own business activities.

Manufacturing and TSL (transport, shipping, logistics)

Manufacturing, which is developing in the Łódzkie Province, generates demand for workers to operate production lines and large-scale stores (Łódź Special Economic Zone).

The most sought-after occupations in the labour market of Łódzkie Province include robot operators and industrial manipulators operators, stock clerks licensed to operate industrial trucks, and heavy truck and semi-trailer truck drivers. In addition, the TSL industry is looking for van drivers as well as logistics and forwarding agents.

Lower-level employees

A special feature of this group is increased job rotation, driven by difficult working conditions and low pay. The same applies to the following occupational groups: building caretakers, porters, janitors and watch persons, sales workers and cashiers, and meat and fish processing workers. Employers draw attention to the lack of professional training in occupations such as butcher, ham and sausage maker or preparer of animal intestines of animals for sausage production.

In conclusion, the expanding manufacturing industry in the Łódzkie Province generates demand for workers to operate production lines and large-scale stores. There is a strong demand in the regional labour market for qualifications to operate devices, installations and networks, as well as qualifications of earthmoving plant operators and mechanics, or heavy truck drivers.

Małopolskie

The Małopolska Region (Lesser Poland) is located in the south of Poland and borders with Slovakia and the following regions: Świętokrzyskie, Podkarpackie and Śląskie (Silesia). It occupies a surface area of 15,000 km² and its population is 3.4 million. The province covers 5% of the total surface area of Poland. The Małopolskie Province is divided into 22 districts – 19 rural districts and 3 urban districts, which comprise a total of 182 municipalities. The main cities of the province are: Kraków – the former capital city of Poland and the current capital of the region (803,000 inhabitants), Tarnów (106,000 inhabitants) and Nowy Sącz (83,000 inhabitants). The region’s dwellers account for approximately 9% of the total population of Poland. As regards population, the Małopolskie Province comes in at the fourth place in Poland, after Mazowieckie, Śląskie and Wielkopolskie Provinces. The population density in 2022 was 226 persons per km², compared with the national average of 121 persons per km². Only the Śląskie Province has a higher population density rate. The ratio of women to men has not changed (106 women per 100 men). The share of urban dwellers in the total population, known as the urbanisation rate, is 48% and one of the lowest in the country.

At the end of 2022, more than 463,000 business entities were registered in the Małopolskie Province. Over 97% of them belong to the private sector. The highest number of businesses operated in the following sections: trade and repair of motor vehicles, construction, and professional, scientific and technical activity. The Małopolskie Province has favourable conditions for the development of the high-technology sector, automotive sector, tourism and BSS (Business Services Sector). The biggest companies operating in the Małopolskie Province include: Polska Spółka Gazownictwa (Tarnów), Can-Pack (Kraków), Carlsberg Polska (Brzesko), Coca-Cola (Niepołomice), Maspex (Wadowice), Grupa Kęty, ArcelorMittal (Kraków), Tele-Fonika Kable (Myślenice), Stalprodukt (Bochnia), Delphi Poland (Kraków), Valeo Autosystemy (Skawina), Synthos S.A. (Oświęcim), BP (Kraków), PGE Paliwa (Kraków), Exclusive Networks Poland S.A. (Kraków), Grupa PGD (Kraków), Motorola (Kraków), IBM (Kraków), Philip Morris Distribution (Kraków), Capgemini (Kraków), Comarch SA. (Kraków), Control Process (Kraków), Newag SA (Nowy Sącz). The Małopolskie Province is also an important location for the video games industries. Over 20% of video game companies have their registered offices or branches in this region, including Gamedesire and CD Project.

The economic activity rate in the fourth quarter of 2021 stood at 56.9% and was lower than the national average (58.2%), which places the province in the 9^th place in Poland. Approximately 1.58 million persons were employed in the Małopolskie Province in 2021, i.e. more than half of those aged 15 and over (the employment rate stood at 60%).

At the end of December 2022, district labour offices in the Małopolska region registered 64,379 persons, i.e. 5,569 persons less than a year before (8%), but more than at the end of 2019, i.e. before the pandemic (by 2.8%). At the end of 2022, the registered unemployment rate in the Małopolskie Province was 4.5%, which means that it was lower than in 2021 (by 0.5 pp) but higher than in 2019, i.e. before the pandemic (by 0.2 pp), and also lower than the national average (by 0.7 pp).

The unemployment rate was the lowest in Kraków (2.3%) and Nowy Sącz (3.2%), while the highest in the district of Dąbrowa Tarnowska (12.5%). Compared to December 2021, the rate increased in 7 districts. The highest, by 0.5 pp, in the district of Myślenice, in addition to by 0.2 pp in the Tatra district, by 0.1 pp in the districts of: Tarnów, Proszowice, the city of Nowy Sącz, Limanowa and Nowy Sącz. In the remaining 15 districts of the province, a decrease in the unemployment rate was recorded over the year. The largest drop was in the Nowy Targ (by 1.6 pp), Bochnia (1.1 pp) and Chrzanów (1.0 pp) districts.

In the first half of 2023, the situation in the labour market improved further. The unemployment rate in the Małopolskie Province at the end of June 2023 was 4.3% and decreased by 0.2 pp compared with May and increased by 0.2 pp year-on-year. The lowest rate was recorded in the following districts: the city of Kraków (2%), Myślenice district (3%) and the city of Nowy Sącz (3.3%). The highest rate was recorded in the following districts: Dąbrowa Tarnowska district (12.6%), Nowy Sącz district (9.6%) and Tatra district (8.5%). Compared to June last year, the rate increased in 12 districts. The highest by 0.6 pp in the Dąbrowa Tarnowska district and by 0.5 pp in the districts of Nowy Sącz, Tatra and the city of Nowy Sącz. In the district of Brzesko, the unemployment rate remained at the same level, while the other nine districts of the province saw a decrease in the unemployment rate over the year.

At the end of June 2023, the number of unemployed persons registered at district labour offices was 61,470 persons and decreased by 2,473 persons, i.e. 3,9%, compared with the previous year (in June 2022, the number of unemployed persons was 63,943).

Links:

Provincial Labour Office in Kraków	http://www.wup-krakow.pl
Statistics and analyses – Małopolskie Province	https://wupkrakow.praca.gov.pl/rynek-pracy/statystyki-i-analizy/
Occupational Barometer – Małopolskie Province	https://barometrzawodow.pl/
Statistical Office in Kraków	http://krakow.stat.gov.pl

The Labour Demand survey by the Statistics Poland shows that companies in the Małopolskie Province offered 13,500 vacancies at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022. District labour offices in the Małopolska region had 4,700 job offers at their disposal in the same period. Throughout 2022, employers submitted 92,500 job offers to the district labour offices, which is 2.2% less than a year before. Vacancies were mainly available in the following sectors: professional, scientific and technical activities (21.2%), information and communication (20.2%), manufacturing (14.4%) and construction (13.5%).

The 2023 Occupational Barometer survey identified 34 occupations with the most acute shortages of workers in the labour market in the Małopolskie Province. These professions include: concrete placers and finishers, pavers, carpenters and joiners, electricians, electrical equipment repairers and installers, physiotherapists and massage therapists, hairdressers, bus drivers, heavy truck and semi-trailer truck drivers, cooks, medical doctors, motor vehicle mechanics and repairers, construction installation assemblers, bricklayers and plasterers, teachers of practical vocational training and subjects, teachers of general education subjects, carers of older persons or persons with disabilities, bakers, nurses and midwives, accounting and bookkeeping staff, building finishers, psychologists and psychotherapists, wood treaters and joiners, welders. In the capital of the province, Kraków, shortage occupations are found, among others, in the following groups:

IT-related and business services professions: database designers and administrators, software developers, accounting and bookkeeping clerks, financial professionals;
construction and industrial workers: concrete placers and finishers, pavers, carpenters and joiners, construction roofers and sheet-metal workers, bricklayers and plasterers, construction installation assemblers, welders, building finishers, manual and elementary workers, building workers;
service workers: tailors and garment workers, sales workers and cashiers, mail carriers and couriers;
forwarding and logistics workers: stock clerks;
medical workers: medical doctors, nurses and midwives, physiotherapists and massage therapists, carers of older persons or persons with disabilities, paramedical practitioners.

In 2022, 92,500 offers were submitted to the district labour offices in Małopolska, which is 2.2% less than a year before.

In June 2023, 7,929 offers were communicated to district labour offices, i.e. 914 more than in 2022.

Mazowieckie

The Mazowieckie Province is located in the central-eastern part of Poland. It has an area of 35,559 km² (11.4% of the area of Poland) and a population of 5,510,600 lived there in 2022 (14.6% of the population of Poland), 52.1% of which were women. Warsaw is the capital of Poland and the largest city in the region, accounting for over 33.8% of the total population of the province, i.e. 1,862000 people. The following subregional centres also play an important role in the Mazovia region: Radom, Płock, Siedlce, Ostrołęka and Ciechanów. The degree of urbanisation in the province is high and it stood at 65%, whereas at the national level – at 60%.

At the end of March 2023, there were 989,530 business entities registered in the Mazowieckie Province (19.5% of those registered in Poland), of which 54.4% operated in Warsaw. Most of them were engaged in wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, including motorcycles (19.7% of all entities), professional, scientific and technical activities (15.3% of all entities), construction (10.4% of all entities), and information and communication (9% of all entities).

In June 2023, the highest number of persons were employed in the Mazowieckie Province in wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, including motorcycles (an average of 345,800 persons), manufacturing (342,900), and transportation and storage (277,700). Their total share represented 60.9% of the total number of persons employed in the business sector.

110,693 unemployed persons were registered at labour offices at the end of June 2023, which means that almost every seventh unemployed person in Poland came from the Mazowieckie Province. The registered unemployment rate in the Mazowieckie Province stood at 4.0% at the end of June 2023 (compared with the national average of 5.0%). The unemployment rate in the Mazowieckie Province is highly territorially diversified. The highest unemployment rate in June 2023 was recorded in the following districts: Szydłowiec district (24.3%), Przysucha district (17.6%), Radom district (17.0%), and Maków district (16.5%). The lowest unemployment rate was recorded in the city of Warsaw (1.3%) and in the following districts: Western Warsaw district (1.4%), Pruszków district (2.2%), Grójec district and Sochaczew districts (2.5%) and Grodzisk Mazowiecki district (2.7%).

The unemployment rate according to the LFS in the Mazowieckie Province in the second quarter of 2023 stood at 2.3%, compared with the national unemployment rate of 2.6%.

Links:

Provincial Labour Office in Warsaw	http://wupwarszawa.praca.gov.pl
Statistics and analyses – Mazowieckie Province	http://wupwarszawa.praca.gov.pl/rynek-pracy/statystyki-i-analizy
Mazovia Labour Market Observatory	http://obserwatorium.mazowsze.pl/
Occupational Barometer – Mazowieckie Province	https://barometrzawodow.pl/
Statistical Office in Warsaw	http://warszawa.stat.gov.pl/

The number of employed persons in the Mazowieckie Province is projected to decrease very slightly: 0.3% by 2025. However, structural changes in the region will most likely be implemented in line with the forecast, according to which significant changes in the employment structure will occur in agriculture and market services (which include both traditional and modern, ultra-efficient services), while the share of employment in industry and non-market services will remain relatively stable. The projected sectoral changes in the Mazowieckie Province are reflected in the trends observed in the occupational structure, which suggest a high increase in demand for professionals, a considerable decrease in the share of working farmers and minor changes in the remaining major occupational groups.

Most of the vacancies and activation offers in the Mazowieckie Province in December 2022 were available in the following sections: wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, including motorcycles; information and communication; education; manufacturing; transportation and storage and professional, scientific and technical activities. In June 2023, the highest number of job vacancies and places of professional activation were recorded in the following occupations: orchard assistant on a fruit farm; field worker; hand packer; other elementary workers not elsewhere classified; manufacturing worker; other manufacturing elementary workers; other maintenance workers at offices, hotels and other facilities; stock clerks; other Prison Service officers. These data are confirmed by the forecast of shortage and surplus occupations – the Occupational Barometer for 2023. According to the 2022 Occupational Barometer, a number of shortage occupations were identified in the 2023 forecast.

The result generated for the Mazowieckie Province indicates a deficit in 22 occupational groups (the forecast for 2022 indicated a deficit in 19 occupational groups), while 143 occupations are identified as being in balance, with no surplus occupations expected.

There is diversity between the Warsaw Capital Region (covering the capital city of Warsaw and 9 districts) and other parts of the Mazowieckie Province. 22 occupations are in shortage in the whole province. On the other hand, when the performance of the statistical regions (at NUTS2 level) is compared, there are 54 shortage occupations in the Warsaw Capital Region and 17 in the other parts of the Mazowieckie Province.

The results of the Occupational Barometer indicate that, in particular, shortages of workers in the following sectors will persist in 2023: construction, logistics (stock clerks, couriers, buyers) and health care.

Notably, it is worth looking at the construction sector, where shortages have been persisting in the recent period: concrete placers and finishers, carpenters and joiners, construction roofers and sheet-metal workers, bricklayers and plasterers, construction installation assemblers, earthmoving plant operators and mechanics, building finishers and building workers.

Persisting shortages also apply to welders; heavy truck and semi-trailer truck drivers; toolmakers; electricians, electrical equipment repairers and installers and stock clerks.

The difficult situation related to staff shortages in kindergartens and schools in the Mazowieckie Province has been further aggravated. For the 2022/2023 school year, directors of educational institutions have reported more than 3,000 vacancies. There is a shortage of teachers especially in Warsaw. Shortages were compounded by the accumulation of classes and by the large number of students from Ukraine. The number of teachers needed to work with children with special educational needs and pre-school teachers is increasing. On a provincial scale, the shortage of vocational training teachers for both vocational subjects and practical vocational training is still a very big problem.

When analysing the situation in the Mazowieckie Province, one has to mention the logistics industry and, in particular, the profession of a stock clerk. Shortages as regards this occupation are projected in 28 districts, and in six districts they are expected to be large in scale. In particular, stock clerks with licences to operate industrial trucks are in demand. The districts of the Warsaw Capital region and the districts neighbouring with the A2 Motorway have a high demand for workers from this professional group, as they are home to numerous logistics and storage facilities. New road nodes in Warsaw’s surrounding areas, which can contribute to the further development of the TSL sector around the capital, are of importance as well. In 41 districts of the Mazowieckie Province, there is a shortage of C+E certified heavy truck drivers.

Links:

Mazovia Labour Market Observatory	http://obserwatorium.mazowsze.pl/badania-i-analizy/prognozy
Provincial Labour Office in Warsaw	http://wupwarszawa.praca.gov.pl/rynek-pracy/statystyki-i-analizy

Occupations with the highest unemployment include: salesperson; cook; building construction worker; building caretaker; toolmaker; stock clerk; hairdresser; economics technician; bricklayer; industrial assistant worker; tailor; economist; office work technician; mechanical technician; maintenance worker (cleaner); other office workers; hand packer; confectioner; car mechanic; waiter; customer advisor; yard worker; carpenter.

The Occupational Barometer forecast for 2023 did not indicate specific groups of unemployed persons or even surplus occupations, apart from minor cases in the profession of economist, arising from the lack of specialisation or surplus of economic school graduates in particular districts. It should be emphasised that registered unemployed persons at district labour offices frequently do not work for reasons beyond the labour market and due to the following, among others: outdated professional skills, age close to retirement, no willingness to work, digital exclusion, lack of foreign language skills, lack of ability or willingness to undergo retraining, low mobility or family situation. Difficult working conditions (such as shift work, heavy physical work or work in harmful conditions, or unsatisfactory wages) in occupations such as cashier, construction worker and blue-collar worker are also a barrier to employment.

The war against Ukraine and related migrations have significantly affected the labour market in 2022 and 2023. On the one hand, some workers have drifted away from the labour market of Mazowieckie Province due to the need to return to Ukraine. On the other hand, there has been an influx of new Ukrainian citizens, mostly women and children. Although initially it seemed that they could be a great support to the labour market, many obstacles appeared, such as the language barrier, cultural differences, childcare, mental condition affected by the war and the nostrification of diplomas, especially medical diplomas. It should be noted that some of the migrants have returned to Ukraine and others make their decision to stay dependent on the duration of the war. As a result, some industries have gained new employees and in other sectors outflow has been recorded. In particular, the current situation could and can benefit companies that are prepared to support Ukrainian workers in various ways, e.g. by offering assistance in learning foreign languages. The large number of foreigners in the Mazowieckie Province is confirmed by registry data and surveys, which estimate that around 15% of all Ukrainians are staying in the Mazowieckie Province.

Links:

Regional Labour Office in Warsaw

http://wupwarszawa.praca.gov.pl/rynek-pracy/statystyki-i-analizy

Opolskie

The Opolskie Province is the smallest province in Poland (9,412 km²), located in the south-west of the country. It is inhabited by only 948,000 persons, which constitutes about 2.5% of the total population of Poland. A systematic decline in the population is observed in the region.

The situation on the labour market, in comparison with the average situation in the country, is a bit more difficult. At the end of 2022, the economic activity rate stood at 56.8%, compared with 58% for Poland. The employment rate, on the other hand, was slightly better – at 54.2%.

In December 2022, there were 110,508 business entities registered in the province, which is the highest level recorded in the years 2011-2022. When looking at the business structure in the Opolskie Region in 2022, it is worth noting that the concentration of activities takes place mainly within four sections of the economy: ‘wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles’ (20.7%), ‘construction’ (15.5%), ‘manufacturing’ (9.1%) and ‘real estate activities’ (8.5%). In addition, business entities in the highest number are present in large districts (the city of Opole – 21% of all companies, Nysa district – 13.6%, Opole district – 11.7%, Brzeg district – 9.9%). 20,867 persons were registered as unemployed at the end of June 2023, while the registered unemployment rate stood at 6.1%, an increase of 0.1 pp compared with June 2022. The urban Opole district (the capital of the province) is in the most favourable position, with a registered unemployment rate of 3%, while the most disadvantaged district was Głubczyce with a rate of 10.3%.

The major employers in the Opolskie Province are: Grupa Azoty Zakłady Azotowe Kędzierzyn S.A., PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna S.A.: Oddział Elektrownia Opole, Górażdże Cement S.A., Nutricia Zakłady Produkcyjne Sp. z o.o., ArcelorMittal Poland Oddział w Zdzieszowicach, Multiserwis Sp. z o.o., WeWire Poland Sp. z o.o. Sp.k., Sindbad Sp. z o.o.

Links:

Provincial Labour Office in Opole	http://www.wupopole.praca.gov.pl
Statistics and analyses – Opolskie Province	https://wupopole.praca.gov.pl/rynek-pracy/statystyki-i-analizy/
Occupational Barometer – Opolskie Province	https://barometrzawodow.pl/
Statistical Office in Opole	http://www.stat.gov.pl/opole

8,200 new jobs and 2,700 vacancies were created in the Opolskie Province in 2022.

Throughout 2022, a total of 27,235 job and professional activation offers were submitted to district labour offices, which was 8,061 fewer offers than in 2021. Most job offers concerned the following sectors: public administration and national defence, compulsory social security (24.5%), construction (11.7%), water supply, sewage and waste management, and remediation activities (9.8%), financial and insurance activities (8.4%). Most job offers in 2022 were available for industrial workers and craft workers (22.6%) and elementary workers (20.3%).

The Occupational Barometer survey indicates that shortages of workers are expected in the following industries in the Opolskie Province in 2023:

construction: concrete placers and finishers, pavers, carpenters and joiners, construction installation assemblers, bricklayers and plasterers, earthmoving plant operators and mechanics, building finishers, building workers, crane and hoist plant operators, construction managers;
industrial sector: electricians, electrical equipment repairers and installers, electronics, automation and robotics specialists, tailors and garment workers, stock clerks, machine tool operators, woodworkers and carpenters, welders, toolmakers, upholsterers, metal installation assemblers, metal processing workers, quality workers;
TSL: heavy truck and semi-trailer truck drivers, bus drivers, motor vehicle mechanics and repairers, automotive sheet-metal workers and spray painters and varnishers, mail carriers and couriers, freight forwarders and supply and logistics workers;
education: foreign language teachers, teachers of general subjects, vocational training teachers, teachers of vocational subjects; teachers of special schools and integrated classes;
medical and care industry: physiotherapists and massage therapists, medical doctors, nurses and midwives, psychologists and psychotherapists, paramedical practitioners, carers of older persons or persons with disabilities, social workers;
catering industry: waiters and bartenders, cooks, bakers, kitchen helpers;
financial industry: accounting and bookkeeping staff, independent accountants.

Podkarpackie

The Podkarpackie Province borders Ukraine and Slovakia. The Podkarpackie Province has the highest ratio of people living in rural areas – 58.91%, which puts it in the first place in the country. Its flagship agricultural nature remains in contrast with the development of its towns and cities. Since the 1990s, the population has willingly settled in the suburbs of the region’s centre, Rzeszów (197,200 inhabitants), which is a commercial, service, industrial and educational centre. An airport in Jasionka functions as a permanent border crossing. The region consists of 21 districts and 4 cities with the rights of urban districts. It covers an area of 17,800 km² and is inhabited by 2.1 million people. The median age in 2022 was 41.7 years (the average for Poland is 42.3 years). The average gross monthly remuneration is one of the lowest in Poland.

As of the end of June 2023, 206,200 business entities were registered in this province. The main types of business activities included: wholesale and retail trade, construction, manufacturing, as well as professional, scientific and technical activities. Industrial sectors of the region include agri-food, electromechanical and chemical industries. Large plants continue to follow the traditions of the aviation industry.

Comparing 30 June 2023 to 30 June 2022, there was a decrease in the number of people registered with the district labour offices by 3,952 people. There has been demand for carers of older persons, production line workers and for elementary workers in construction, agriculture and catering and hospitality. Drivers, professionals, and logistics workers are in demand. There is a shortage of qualified and experienced people, for example in the medical sector. According to the projections of the Occupational Barometer, in 2023, employers are looking for employees in occupations such as: metalworking machine operator; welder, toolmaker; mechanical technician; electrical equipment repairer; electrical equipment installer; electrician; carpenter; paver; roofer; construction manager; bricklayer; plasterer; construction worker; medical doctor; physiotherapist; stock clerk or accountant.

The province is home to competitive aeronautical, biotechnological, pharmaceutical, IT (software development) and iron casting businesses. Main employers include: Pratt & Whitney Rzeszów S.A., MTU Aero Engines Polska, Hamilton Sundstrand Poland Sp. z o.o. – United Technologies corporation, B&B Trend (formerly known as Zelmer), Asseco Poland S.A., ICN Polfa Rzeszów S.A., (BAUSCH HEALTH COMPANIES INC), Greinplast Sp. z o.o., Nestlé Polska S.A. branch in Rzeszów, Firma Oponiarska T.C. Dębica S.A. (The Goodyear Tyre & Rubber Company). Zelmotor (Rzeszów, Jarosław) is also in operation. A significant contribution to the high-tech industry development is provided also by business entities in Mielec (Polskie Zakłady Lotnicze Sp. z o.o., a subsidiary company of Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation), Borg Warner Poland Sp. z o.o. (Jasionka), Kirchhoff Automotive Polska (branch in Mielec), BRW (branch in Mielec), Goodrich Aerospace Poland (Collins Aerospace, Tajęcina, Krosno), Husqvarna Poland (branch in Mielec), Olimp Labs Sp. z o.o. (Dębica), Sanok Rubber Company (Sanok), Asseco Poland S.A. (Rzeszów), Federal – Mogul Gorzyce Sp. z o.o. (District of Tarnobrzeg), Fabryka Farb i Lakierów Śnieżka (Brzeźnica, District of Dębica).

The SEZ subzone operates as the Euro-Park Mielec Rzeszów-Dworzysko. It is located in the vicinity of the Rzeszów-Jasionka airport. Rzeszów-Dworzysko is home to companies active in aerospace, electromechanical (including automotive) and IT industries: OPTeam S.A., ZELNAR Sp. z o.o. (Tajęcina). Entities located in the Tarnobrzeg district include Pilkington Atomotive Poland Sp. z o.o., BK Glass Sp. z o.o., KOMA Stahlbau Sp. z o.o. and Wisan S.A. – the best textile manufacturer in Europe (price to value) offering curtains, tablecloth, fabrics, drapes, runners, table napkins and roller blinds. Other companies include: Uniwheels Production Poland (Stalowa Wola), Sanfarm and Zakłady Metalowe Dezamet (Nowa Dęba), Southco (Tajęcina), CADworks Systems Sp. z o.o. (Jasionka) and BigCom (Rzeszów).

In the first quarter of 2023, the Podkarpackie Province had a higher economic activity rate by 0.2 pp (54.0%) than in the first quarter of 2022 (53.8%). The labour force participation of the population varied by gender (56.2% of the economically active population was male). Higher labour force participation was recorded among those with tertiary education (79.5%) than among those with lower secondary, primary, incomplete primary education and no schooling (13.5%). The economic activity rate was lower by 4.4 pp in the Podkarpackie Province than in Poland (15^th place in the country).

In the first quarter of 2023, the employment rate in the Podkarpackie Province (51.7%) was 1.0 pp lower than in the first quarter of 2022. Compared to the national level (56.7%), it was 5.0 pp lower.

The registered unemployment rate was 8.4% in June 2023. The unemployment rate was the highest in the following districts: Brzozów (19.1%), Lesko (17.8%), Nisko (17.0%), Strzyżów (16.8%), Przemyśl (16.2%), Bieszczady (14.7%) and Leżajsk (14.2%). The lowest rate was in the following districts: Krosno (2.5%), Rzeszów (4.1%) Dębica and Stalowa Wola (4.7% each) and Mielec (4.8%). The same administrative units are generally among districts with the highest unemployment level (and the same is true about districts with the lowest unemployment level). This pattern points to systemic reasons for this divergence.

According to the LFS, in the first quarter of 2023, the unemployment rate was 4.3% and was lower by 1.5 pp than in the first quarter of 2022 and higher by 1.4 pp than the rate for Poland. Apart from large employers, business activity in the Podkarpackie Province is powered by small and medium companies. They are engaged in manufacturing, trade and service activities. Business activity other than related to agriculture is concentrated in suburb areas and cities. New, environmentally friendly companies are increasingly often created near the large cities of the region.

Links:

Provincial Labour Office in Rzeszów	http://www.wup-rzeszow.pl
Statistics and analyses – Podkarpackie Province	https://wuprzeszow.praca.gov.pl/rynek-pracy/statystyki-i-analizy/#/map/…
Occupational Barometer – Podkarpackie Province	https://barometrzawodow.pl/
Statistical Office in Rzeszów	https://rzeszow.stat.gov.pl/
Job offers	rzeszowiak.pl
Job offers	https://www.olx.pl/
Job offers for medical doctors	https://ogloszenia.gazetalekarska.pl/

Podlaskie

The Podlaskie Province is located in the north-east of Poland. It is adjacent to three provinces: Warmińsko-Mazurskie, Mazowieckie and Lubelskie. It forms an internal (in the north-east, with Lithuania) and external (in the east, with Belarus) border of the EU. In terms of ethnicity and culture, it is the most diverse region in Poland. Poles, Belarusians, Tatars, Russians and Jews have lived here side by side for centuries. It has the largest Orthodox population in Poland; in the Hajnówka district, for example, 63.5% of the population declared that they belonged to the Orthodox Church.

It covers 6.5% of Poland’s area and is inhabited by 3.0% of the country’s population (1,143,400 inhabitants at the end of 2022). The main urban centres are Białystok (the capital city of the region), Łomża and Suwałki. The Podlaskie Province is characterised by a very low population density (57 persons/km² compared with the national average of 121 persons/km²). In 2022, the population of the province decreased by 0.5%. A persistent negative balance of permanent internal and external migrations (-1.0) and a negative natural population change (-3.8) contributed to that situation.

The Podlaskie Province is one of the least economically developed regions in Poland. Due to its low share in the gross value added (2.2% of the country’s GDP), it scores the 14^th position in Poland. The average GDP per capita in the region is PLN 50,378 (2021), i.e. 72.9% of the national average (13^th position in Poland).

The Podlaskie Province is an agricultural region. The main crops grown here are rape, colza and potatoes. Agriculture is almost entirely in the private sector. Animal production accounts for the largest share in global agricultural production – 74.5%, of which 46.9% is cows’ milk production and 23.1% is cattle livestock production (2020). Apart from manufacture and processing of food products, the province’s industry is based on manufacture of rubber and plastic products, manufacture of products of wood, cork, straw and wicker, and manufacture of machinery and equipment. These four sectors generate 75.4% of the value of industrial production sold.

At the end of 2022, 116,900 businesses were registered in the Podlaskie Province’s official business register. The vast majority of entities belong to the private sector (97.6% of all businesses) and operate in the following sections: wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, including motorcycles (20.5%), construction (15.9%), professional, scientific and technical activities (9.1%), other service activities (7.8%), manufacturing (7.5%), health care and social work activities (7.3%), and transportation and storage (7.0%).

The following PKD (Polish Classification of Activities) sections which are crucial to the development of the province generate the highest number of jobs in the Podlaskie Province: manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, construction, and transportation and storage. They cover 41.1% of the total number of persons employed. The non-market services sector (education, public administration and national defence, compulsory social security, health care and social work activities) also plays an important role on the regional labour market, with 22,9% of the total number of persons employed working there.

As of the end of 2022, 1,500 commercial companies with foreign equity participation were registered in the Podlaskie Province and their number increased by 19.0% compared with the previous year. The presence of foreign investors in the region mainly concerns the city of Białystok (1,000 companies with foreign capital participation), and the following districts: Białystok, Sejny and the city of Suwałki (100 each). It should be noted that manufacturing plants of renowned foreign companies (e.g. IKEA, British American Tobacco PLC) are located in the Podlaskie Province. As outlined in the Podlaskie Province Development Strategy for 2030, the region is to be a partner region, i.e. focused on intra-regional cooperation, cooperation with other regions in Poland and in the EU, and collaboration with partners outside the EU, in particular eastern countries.

According to the European Business Institute, out of 96,900 Polish enterprises, 800 companies from the Podlaskie Province were awarded the title of ‘Brylant Polskiej Gospodarki 2022’ [Diamond of the Polish Economy 2022]. These are companies whose estimated market value exceeded PLN 10 million in March 2021. The top companies in the ranking were as follows: British – American Tobacco Polska S.A. (PLN 2,433 million), Spółdzielnia Mleczarska Mlekovita (PLN 2,204 million), PRONAR Sp. z o.o. (PLN 1,698 million), Suempol Sp. z o.o. (PLN 1,408 million), Zakłady Produkcji Kruszyw Rupińscy S.J. (PLN 1,218 million), Dairy Cooperative MLEKPOL in Grajewo (PLN 1,114 million).

According to the LFS, 495,000 persons aged 15–89 were employed in the Podlaskie Province in the first quarter of 2023, 17,000 persons were unemployed and 356,000 persons were not professionally active. The economic activity rate was 59.0% (58.4% for Poland) and the employment rate was 57.0% (56.7% for Poland). 30,400 persons were registered as unemployed at labour offices at the end of June 2023 and the number of unemployed persons had decreased by 2.7% since the beginning of the year (a decrease of 6.6% in January-June 2022). The registered unemployment rate stood at 7.1% (5.0% for Poland), a decrease of 0.2 pp compared with June in the previous year. The highest unemployment rate was recorded in the following districts: Kolno district (17.2%), Grajewo district (11.6%), Sejny district (11.3%) and Sokółka district (11.2%). The lowest rate was recorded in Bielsk Podlaski district (4.2%), Białystok City (5.2%), Suwałki City (5.3%) and Suwałki district (5.6%). The actual unemployment rate (according to the LFS) was lower than the registered unemployment rate, standing at 3.3% (2.9% for Poland) at the end of the first quarter of 2023.

20,400 unemployed persons registered at labour offices in the first half of 2023 – 2.7% more than in the same period in the previous year. At the same time, the number of people excluded from the unemployment register decreased. A total of 21,200 persons were removed from the registers from January to June 2023, which is 3.8% less than in the previous year. The number of people taking up employment decreased as well. 11,800 unemployed persons were removed from labour office registers for this reason – 0.6% less than in the previous year.

Links:

Provincial Labour Office in Białystok	http://wupbialystok.praca.gov.pl/
Statistics and analyses – Podlaskie Province	https://wupbialystok.praca.gov.pl/rynek-pracy/statystyki-i-analizy/
Occupational Barometer – Podlaskie Province	https://barometrzawodow.pl/
Statistical Office in Białystok	http://www.stat.gov.pl/bialystok
Statistics Poland (Główny Urząd Statystyczny)	https://stat.gov.pl
Local Data Bank, Statistics Poland	https://bdl.stat.gov.pl/bdl/start
EuropejskaFirma.pl	https://europejskafirma.pl/brylanty-polskiej-gospodarki-2022-wojewodztw…

According to the Labour Demand Survey carried out by Statistics Poland, in Podlaskie Province, the number of jobs in entities employing at least one person was, at the end of 2022, 2,400 job vacancies and was 39.1% higher than that recorded a year earlier. The vast majority, i.e. 79.2%, concerned jobs in six sections of the Polish Classification of Activities (PKD): in transport and storage – 25.0% of all job vacancies, construction – 20.8%, as well as industrial processing establishments, wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, public administration and national defence; compulsory social security and health care and social assistance (8.3% each). At the end of 2022, the largest number of vacancies was addressed to the group of machine and plant operators and assemblers (32.6%), industrial and craft workers (28.5%), professionals (14.9%) and service and sales workers (12.1%).

During the first half of 2023, employers notified 10,100 job offers to labour offices, 81.4% of which concerned jobs in the private sector and 18.6% – jobs in the public sector. Compared with the first half of 2022, the number of job offers notified decreased by 24.4%. Most of the job offers were aimed at eight large occupational groups: food processing, woodworking, garment and related trades workers (10.2% of all job offers), personal service workers (10.0%), elementary workers in agriculture, forestry and fishing (8.0%), elementary workers in mining, industry, construction and transport (6.8%), secretaries, office equipment operators and other related workers (6.5%), metal, machinery and related trades workers (5.6%), construction workers and other related workers (5.5%), and sales workers and other related workers (5.4%).

The results of the 2023 Occupational Barometer survey showed that the shortage occupations on the labour market of the Podlaskie Province include: electricians; electrical equipment repairers and installers; physiotherapists and massage therapists; heavy truck and semi-trailer truck drivers; medical doctors; stock clerks; practical vocational training teachers; vocational subject teachers; earthmoving plant operators and mechanics; nurses and midwives; uniformed services staff; psychologists and psychotherapists; and welders.

The shortage of workers is the result of various factors, the most frequently cited ones being the lack of sufficient candidates to work, the failure of candidates to meet employers’ requirements and unattractive or burdensome working conditions. The lengthy recruitment process that includes multiple stages, the preference for self-employment over salaried work in some occupational groups, job rotation and shadow economy work associated with avoiding compliance with labour market standards are also reasons for persistent staff shortages.

Pomorskie

The Pomorskie Province is situated by the Baltic Sea. Its surface area is over 18,000 km², which constitutes approx. 6% of Poland’s surface area. The city of Gdańsk is the capital of the region.

The excellent location of the Pomorskie Province at the crossroads of international transport routes, its dynamically developing seaports and airport, its ever-improving transport accessibility and growing logistics facilities are conducive to international exchange and attractive to foreign investors. The region is characterised by an above-average investment attractiveness.

According to the data from the Statistics Poland, there were more than 2.35 million inhabitants in the entire province in 2021. The number of inhabitants of Tricity has been steadily increasing. There were 1.6 million people living in the Gdańsk Metropolitan Area (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot and neighbouring districts). Strong urban centres form the basis of the region’s economic growth. Their economic potential stems from the concentration of human capital – nearly 63% (2021) of the region’s population lives in cities and the majority is of working age, providing valuable capital at the disposal of investors. The highest degree of concentration of economic activity is within the Tricity Metropolitan Area (Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot, together with neighbouring districts). In addition to the Tricity Metropolitan Area, the region is also home to many other investment-attractive municipalities and towns and cities, including: Słupsk, Tczew, Kwidzyn and Lębork. Due to their proximity to the Tricity and transport accessibility, Malbork, Starogard Gdański and Wejherowo also stand out on the map of investment attractiveness of the region.

At the end of June 2023, the number of unemployed persons registered at labour offices was 41,100 (a drop of 500 persons, i.e. by 1.2%, compared with June 2022). The registered unemployment rate at the end of June 2023 reached a low level of 4.5% (unchanged from the previous year). 43,200 job vacancies and places of professional activation were notified to labour offices in the province in the first half of 2023 (approx. 15% less than in the corresponding period of 2022).

The LFS data show that both the economic activity rate and the employment rate in the Pomorskie Province decreased slightly in the first quarter of 2023, but it was still higher than the national level. For those aged 15-89, the labour force participation rate was 60.6% (nationally 58.4%) and the employment rate was 59.6% (nationally 56.7%). Economically inactive persons in the Pomorskie Province represented 39.4% of the population aged 15-89.

The average gross monthly remuneration in the business sector is increasing. In June 2023, it amounted to PLN 7,512.35 in the Pomorskie Province (PLN 7,335.20 in Poland) and was 12% higher than in the same period of 2022.

Year on year, the number of foreigners employed in the Pomeranian Province is also increasing. According to data from the Social Insurance Institution at the end of June 2023, the number of insured foreign nationals was 73,400 persons (an increase of almost 15% compared to June 2022), almost 73% of which were Ukrainian nationals. Foreign nationals are also increasingly opening up their own businesses. At the end of June 2023, there were 3,300 people doing business (in the same period of the previous year there were only 1,600), of which almost half was carried out by Ukrainian citizens.

Key sectors

Services, industry and construction are the driving forces behind the Pomerania region’s economy, and two dynamically developing ports, in Gdynia and in Gdańsk, are fostering the development of trade. The main branches of industry in the Pomorskie Province are the shipbuilding, wood and paper, petrochemical and electrical engineering industries. The ICT (Information and Communication Technology), BSS (Business Service Sector), logistics, biotechnology, electronics and automotive industries have the greatest development potential.

Modern business services (BSS)

Tricity is one of the best locations for modern business services in Poland. More than 160 modern business service centres operate there. The vast majority specialises in IT and R&D services (ITO centres) and financial processes. English is the language of business and is used by the vast majority of the centres, followed by German.

Modern business services centres operating in Tricity include:

centres which are American, e.g. State Street, Intel Technology, Thomson Reuters, Amazon, Jeppesen – A Boeing Company, Synopsys, ManpowerGroup, Airhelp, Acxiom, Epam Systems;
Scandinavian: Arla, Kemira, Hempel, Unifeeder, Metsa Group, Seagul, DNV GL, Nordic Services, Ttanscom, Mowi;
German: Bayer, ThyssenKrupp, Lufthansa Systems, Adva;
British: PWC, Deloitte;
Austrian: Swarovski, TELUS International;
Swiss: Luxoft;
Spanish: Santander Global Technology and Operations;
French: Sii, Atos, Playsoft, Capgemini;
Dutch: Wolters Kluwer, Aspire Systems, Travactory, Smart4aviation;
Indian: Wipro, WNS, Global Services;
Japanese: FujiFilm, Europe Business Service, Ricoh.

Maritime sector

Shipbuilding is one of the most dynamically developing sectors of the region’s economy. The Tricity shipyards manufacture highly-specialised vessels and installations, such as cable footbridges, heavy lift jack-up vessels and LNG-fuelled vessels, wind towers, Arctic container vessels and exclusive yachts.

The Remontowa Group is one of the largest companies in the sector. Its main activity entails vessel repairs and construction of specialised vessels, such as Arctic container vessels, jack-up vessels or LNG-fuelled vessels. In recent years the shipyard has launched several hybrid ferries that perfectly match current trends in short sea shipping.

Other leading companies are the Crist shipyard (construction of heavy elevators), Energomontaż – Północ Gdynia (EPG), Mostostal Pomorze (construction of steel installations for the maritime sector), Nauta (ship repair services), GSG Tower (wind towers) or Kongsberg Maritime, formerly Rolls Royce (on-board winches, motor maintenance).

The Polish yacht industry is the world leader in the most popular segment of motor boats from 6 to 9 metres in length. The region is home to many companies, including Sunreef Yachts, Admiral Boats or Conrad.

World’s leading classification societies, such as DNV GL, Lloyds Register and American Bureau of Shipping, have their offices in Tricity. The region is also home to two large research and design centres: Maritime Advanced Research Centre Centrum Projektowo-Badawcze Okrętów S.A. (CTO) and Centrum Techniki Morskiej (CTM).

Logistics sector

With its excellent geographical location, the Pomorskie Province has a unique logistics potential that makes it a transport hub for Central and Eastern Europe. Thanks to two dynamically developing deep-water ports in Gdańsk and Gdynia and constantly expanding logistics facilities, the Pomorskie Province is also growing into a port hub serving all types of cargo and all directions of the world. The main driving force of growth is container handling.

The Pomorskie Province offers a well-developed and constantly expanded logistics base as well. The Pomeranian Logistics Centre (Pomorskie Centrum Logistyczne) – owing to its location near the container terminal – is fully implementing the concept of Port Centric Logistics. In Port Gdynia, in turn, there is Logistics Centre tailored to the needs of supply and distribution operators, forwarding companies, companies providing storage services and other logistics-related service providers. The Tricity warehouse market is also represented by companies such as: Panattoni, Prologis, GLP, SEGRO and Polish company 7R.

ICT (Information and Communications Technology) sector

129 companies employing at least 10 persons each operate in the sector. More than 25,000 software developers currently work in the Pomorskie Province, mainly in Tricity, and they are employed in product companies (Boeing Company, Hapag-Lloyd, Nordea), outsourcing companies (Sii, EPAM, Ciklum, Kainos, Cognizant, Wipro) or in in-house IT departments in Shared Services Centres (Maersk Drilling, DNV). In terms of processes, software development and related R&D activities dominate, followed by IT support, application administration and infrastructure management.

There is a hub in the Pomorskie Province – AL Pomerania – bringing together companies and institutions interested in developing the artificial intelligence industry.

Biotechnology and chemistry sector

The sector is home to many companies specialised in molecular biology (A&A Biotechnology, EURx), medical devices for use in oncology, infectious diseases and transplantation (Blirt), cosmetics (Ziaja, Oceanic, Farmix, Femi Loton, Inventia), laboratory diagnostics (Invicta), microbiological research (JS Hamilton Poland), pharmaceutics (Polpharma, Profarm, Labofarm) and detergent production (Impuls).

When talking about biotechnology, other sectors related to chemistry should be mentioned. Gdańsk hosts the leading oil refinery Grupa LOTOS S.A., which on 1 August 2022 became part of the energy conglomerate ORLEN Group. Innovation is at the heart of the new strategy, which focuses on expanding into new products and technologies and alternative fuels – hydrogen, LNG, as well as electromobility. This is part of a plan to transform the refinery into an energy hub using multiple forms of energy production and focusing on renewable energy sources.

Other significant chemical-related business activities are also carried out in the Pomorskie Province, including manufacturing of fertilisers (Grupa Azoty ‘Fosfory’ in Gdańsk) and plastics (Fabryka Plastików in Kwidzyn).

Automotive sector

Thanks to its high potential (qualified employees and seaside location with sea freight available), the region is becoming a key area for the Polish automotive sector in terms of electromobility and solutions for self-driving cars.

As for electromobility, a flagship investment project is the Swediesh Northvolt, a manufacturer of batteries for electric cars and mining vehicles. Currently, it produces battery systems for industrial equipment and energy storage in Gdańsk.

Pomerania plays also a significant role in providing solutions for self-driving cars. Intel, Aptiv and Nippon Seiki Europe are active in this field in Gdańsk.

Intel Research and Development Centre in Gdańsk. It is the largest corporate R&D centre in Europe and the second largest centre in the world. In its facility in Gdańsk, Intel together with other companies develop, among others, data processing solutions used in self-driving vehicles.

Aptiv, in turn, creates active safety systems which help minimise or entirely eliminate human errors in driving.

Other key investors from the automotive industry include: Nippon Seiki Europe – engages in the specification, design, development and testing of software for on-board information systems; Eaton – manufactures gearboxes, powertrain components and compressors for internal combustion engines in Tczew. When describing the automotive industry in Pomerania, it is impossible not to mention such companies, as: AQ, Wiring Sytems Scania, Zoeller Tech or Federal Mogul.

Electronics

The Pomorskie Province is a leading electronics production centre in Poland. Major global electronics companies have invested here. The first large facility which was located in Pomerania was Radmor – the electronic device manufacturer, mainly for the military sector. Other large companies in this industry include: Flex, Lacroix, Jabil, Panlink Poland, Gemalto, Gerdins Cable Systems, Orbit One. Investors also include many companies with domestic capital (among others, Siled, Assel).

Food processing

Food processing has traditionally been an important sector of the region’s economy. Many companies, both national and international, have chosen this region as their location. Companies such as Unilever (production of Algida ice cream in Banino near Gdańsk), Dr. Oetker (production of food concentrates in Gdańsk, production of frozen pizzas in Łebcz) and Farm Frites (production of chips in Lębork) already operate in the Pomorskie Province. As a coastal region, it has always been an ideal location for fish processing – it is now the main fish processing location in Europe and hosts the world’s largest salmon producer ONE (formerly Marine Harvest). Fish processing plants, such as Graal, BMC Władysławowo, Łosoś Ustka, Szkuner, King Oscar, are also active here.

Offshore

The strength of the Pomorskie Province lies in its experienced companies handling orders for external investors in the offshore industry – as well as installations, design centres, projects, strong research and development centres and currently more than 7,000 students of subjects related to the sector. The first wind farms will be operational as early as 2025, but companies in the Pomorskie Province are already implementing their specialised solutions, including single-bearing wind turbines, designing, meeting and renting terminals, foundation lighting and connection with installations, service, assembly and maintenance. Wind farms account for the largest share of renewable electricity production, generating more than 90% of green electricity.

The largest wind farms in the Pomorskie Province are located near Pelplin, Nowy Staw, Kopaniewo, Wicko and Zajączkowo. More wind power plants are planned in the region. The development of the industry will have a strong impact on many economic sectors of the Pomorskie Province, including shipbuilding, ports, warehouses, education and even tourism. The construction of wind farms in the southern Baltic will result in an influx of new domestic and foreign investment in the region and create new jobs.

Links:

Provincial Labour Office in Gdańsk	http://www.wupgdansk.praca.gov.pl
Invest in Pomerania	http://investinpomerania.pl/
Pomorskie Labour Market Observatory	http://www.porp.pl
Occupational Barometer – Pomorskie Province	https://barometrzawodow.pl/
Occupation Barometer – Summary of the study for the Pomorskie Province	https://porp.pl/uploads/original/012023/27/ebe7e2d34a_raport_wojewodztw…
Statistics Poland (Główny Urząd Statystyczny)	http://stat.gov.pl/

The ‘Labour Demand’ survey by the Statistics Poland shows that entrepreneurs in the Pomorskie Province offered 6,300 vacancies at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022. The largest number of vacancies was offered by employers operating according to the following sections of the Polish Classification of Activities (PKD): manufacturing – 25.4% of the total number of vacancies, construction – 14.3% and information and communication – 11.1%.

43,200 job vacancies and places of professional activation were notified to labour offices in the province in the first half of 2023 (approx. 15% less than in the corresponding period of 2022).

The highest number of job vacancies and places of professional activation were reported for the following occupations: other elementary worker, including manufacturing worker, industrial assistant worker, supporting services police officer, production worker, building caretaker, stock clerk.

The results of the ‘Occupational Barometer’ survey indicate that we will experience a gradual balance of labour demand and supply in 2023. The current forecast indicates 49 groups of shortage occupations, i.e. occupations in which employees should not experience difficulties in finding a job, while employers, due to the insufficient number of people willing to work, may have difficulties in meeting their staffing needs. The shortage of available workers in many Pomorskie Province districts is decreasing and in 2023 only two groups of deficit occupations were identified: nurses and midwives and heavy truck and semi-trailer truck drivers. A slightly smaller deficit is predicted for medical doctors, construction workers as well as bricklayers and plasterers followed by the occupational groups of physiotherapists and massage therapists, psychologists and psychotherapists, cooks, construction roofers and sheet-metal workers, welders, bus drivers, carers of older persons or persons with disabilities.

The Tricity (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot) is a special sub-region in the Pomorskie Province due to the significant concentration of many enterprises, including those with foreign capital, in its area. The demand for IT professionals has not diminished for several years, with the following in particular in demand: database designers and administrators as well as developers and analysts, testers and ICT system operators.

The development of the logistics and transhipment industry in the Tricity is generating high demand for stock clerks, and there is a shortage of employees with the following occupations: shipping agents and supply and distribution agents, and buyers and suppliers.

Many construction investments in the Tricity ensure that employers look for, among others, concrete placers and finishers, carpenters and joiners, construction roofers and sheet-metal workers, construction workers, bricklayers and plasterers, building finishers, electricians, electrical equipment repairers and installers and construction installation assemblers, as well as metal installation assemblers.

As in the entire province, there is also a high demand for medical professionals, e.g. doctors, nurses and midwives, paramedical practitioners, psychologists and psychotherapists as well as carers of older persons or persons with disabilities and physiotherapists and massage therapists.

Shortages of occupations in the Pomorskie Province are most frequently caused by:

on the jobseekers’ side: lack of professional experience, lack of qualifications, lack of competences, lack of necessary licences and general unwillingness to work in a specific occupation;
on the employers’ side: unsatisfactory employment terms, including inadequate remuneration and difficult working conditions or availability requirement.

Śląskie

The surface area of the Śląskie Province (Silesia) is 12,300 km². It has a population of 4.3 million. Silesia is the 14^th largest region in Poland in terms of surface area and it ranks first in terms of highest population density. There are as many as 72 cities and towns in the region with a total of 3.3 million inhabitants.

Silesia is polycentric – administration, universities, cultural institutions, larger companies are mainly concentrated in large agglomeration cities, such as: Katowice, Sosnowiec, Bytom, Gliwice, Zabrze, Tychy and Chorzów. The capitals of the subregions also play an important role: Rybnik, Bielsko-Biała and Częstochowa. Silesia generates 13.1% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which ranks it second in the country. In the region’s economy, there is a marked change in the structure of gross value added (newly created value), with market and non-market services accounting for almost 60% and industry – 33%.

There are restructuring processes in the coal mining and iron and steel industries. The result of the changes taking place in the mining industry is a decisive reduction in employment and improvements in efficiency. On the other hand, there have been fundamental changes in the form of ownership and management structure in the steel sector, which had an impact on the privatisation of the industry.

In the structure of the province’s economy, however, the position of the electrical machinery, IT and energy industries is increasing, and the fastest growing are the automotive industry (the region is the country’s largest producer of cars) and the food industry.

In terms of the number of entities operating in high-technology industries, the province can be counted among the leaders in the country. A large number of micro-enterprises (employing fewer than 10 persons) are present in the region, carrying out such activities, as: production of medical and surgical equipment and orthopaedic appliances, television and radio transmitters, etc., as well as manufacture of instruments and appliances for measurement, control, research, navigation.

The Śląskie Province is also an important educational centre with 31 higher education institutions.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the economic activity rate stood at 56.1%, while the employment rate in the corresponding period was 55.1%.

Throughout 2022, district labour offices of the Śląskie Province registered 126,500 persons, i.e. 14,500 fewer than a year before, a decrease of 13.0% (112,000 persons in 2021).

From January to December 2022, 137,900 unemployed persons were struck off the registers, which was 11,200 more than a year before: +8.9%; in 2021, it was 126,700 persons.

63,900 unemployed persons were registered at labour offices in June 2023. The last time such a low number of registered unemployed people in the Śląskie Province was recorded in December 2019 (66 521 persons). The registered unemployment rate in the Śląskie Province at the end of June 2023 was 3.6%. The unemployment rate in the region varies greatly from territory to territory. In Katowice, the unemployment rate was 1.1%. The opposite position was occupied by the district of Kłobuck, where the rate reached 8.3%.

From 24 February to 30 June 2023, district labour offices of the Śląskie Province registered 13,100 Ukrainian citizens, and 12,300 of them were given a status of an unemployed person. 12,100 Ukrainians were struck off the labour office registers during the same period. The main reason for these deregistrations was to undertake non-subsidised work (28.2% of all cases) and to start an internship (11.7% of all cases).

In 2022, the Provincial Labour Office in Katowice conducted, among others, a cyclical survey ‘The situation on the labour market in the Śląskie Province due to the influx of refugees from Ukraine in 2022’. The survey was implemented in two research cycles (1^st cycle – June 2022, 2^nd cycle – September 2022). The results of the survey provide, among other things, information about the employment plans of Silesian employers over the next 3 months. In June 2022, almost half of employers (45%) had new employment plans, and in September, only about one in four (28%). In both cases, the majority of respondents planning to hire new employees wanted to supplement employees from Ukraine (June – 62%; September – 69%) mainly in specialised job positions (1^st cycle – 37%; 2^nd cycle – 43%) and in elementary workers positions (June – 29%; September – 33%).

Links:

Provincial Labour Office in Katowice	www.wupkatowice.praca.gov.pl
Statistics and analyses – Provincial Labour Office in Katowice	https://wupkatowice.praca.gov.pl/rynek-pracy/statystyki-i-analizy/
Occupational Barometer	https://barometrzawodow.pl/
Statistical Office in Katowice	www.katowice.stat.gov.pl

Over 135,400 job vacancies and places of professional activation were notified to labour offices in the Śląskie Province in 2022. Most job offers were for the following occupations: elementary workers (31.3% vacancies), industrial and craft workers (22.6%), and plant and machine operators and assemblers (15.8%). The lowest number of job vacancies and places of professional activation were addressed to representatives of public authorities, senior officials and managers (0.5%) as well as farmers, gardeners, foresters and fishery workers (1.3%).

According to the labour demand survey, at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, the sectors with job vacancies were as follows: manufacturing (25.8% of all vacancies in the province), construction (12.9%), wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, including motorcycles as well as transportation and storage (12.1% each).

The results of the Occupational Barometer for 2023 show that the number of occupations forecast as shortage occupations at the level of the entire province has decreased in the last 3 years. This means that in the occupations of: concrete placers and finishers; physiotherapists and massage therapists; hairdressers; earthmoving plant operators and mechanics; bakers; manual and elementary workers in manufacturing; paramedical practitioners; wood treaters and joiners as well as sales persons and cashiers, the gap between the qualifications and skills of workers and the demand for them among Silesian employers is narrowing. However, there are professions in which it has not been easy to fill staff shortages for years. These include medical and paramedical occupations: doctors of various specialisations, nurses and midwives, psychologists and psychotherapists, and carers of older persons or persons with disabilities. The labour market experts taking part in the study also forecast a widening deficit at the provincial level mainly in the construction, transport and storage, manufacturing, education, service and catering sectors.

Świętokrzyskie

The Świętokrzyskie Province, one of the smallest in Poland, is located in the central-southern part of the country. It has an area of 11,700 km², which constitutes 3.7% of the area of Poland. It is divided into 14 districts, with the city of Kielce as the administrative centre. 1,178,164 people inhabited the Świętokrzyskie Province at the end of 2022 (13^th position out of 16 regions). Women form the majority of the population (51.3%), and the share of persons living in rural areas is also higher (55.2%). Persons of working age constitute 57.6% of the province’s total population. The share of this group is decreasing year on year. The share of children and young people up to the age of 17 was 16.9%, while the share of people of post-working age increased to 25.5%.

As the Świętokrzyskie Province has great landscape values, tourism is an important branch of the economy. Nevertheless, the region has strong industrial traditions (districts located in the northern part of the province) as well as a significant share of the agricultural sector (districts located in the southern part). The share of agricultural workers is over twice as high as the national average (16.8% versus 7.8% in 2021).

As at the end of 2022, 126,930 national economy entities were entered in the National Official Business Register (REGON) of the Świętokrzyskie Province, i.e. 2.5% of all such entities existing in the country (14^th position among 16 provinces). The number increased by 2.3% over the year. The increase was witnessed only thanks to small entities (up to 9 employees), which account for a majority of all entities (96.4%) Entities employing 10 to 49 persons represent 2.9% and those employing more than 50 persons – 0.7%.

Throughout 2022, 5,900 entities were deregistered from the register, while the number of newly registered entities was higher at 9.4 thousand. In 2022, there was an increase in the number of workers affected by collective redundancies (484 people compared to 379 people a year earlier), due to the war against Ukraine and the deteriorating raw materials and energy crisis. This situation has had the effect of reducing employment levels. In December 2022, average employment in enterprises hiring more than 9 employees stood at 121,900, a decrease of 0.7% compared with the previous year.

The profile of business activity in the Świętokrzyskie Province is usually trade and repair of motor vehicles (25.0% of all entities), construction (16.1%), and manufacturing (9.0%). Companies active in these fields account for more than half of all entities in the province. Industrial activities are of paramount importance for the region’s economy. The main industrial sectors in the Świętokrzyskie Province include: metal and machinery industry (Skarżysko-Kamienna, Starachowice, Kielce, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Końskie), building materials industry (Kielce, Pińczów, Małogoszcz, Ożarów, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski), ceramic industry (Końskie, Ćmielów, Starachowice), iron and steel industry (Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski), energy industry (Połaniec). It should be emphasised that the province industry was shaped by the availability of rock materials and energy resources located in the Świętokrzyskie region. An important part of the province economy is also agriculture (field vegetable, horticulture and bush cultivation), which is a foundation for the developing food processing industry.

The largest companies of the Świętokrzyskie Province are: PSB Handel Group with its registered office in Wełecz near Busko-Zdrój (trade in building materials, ‘Mrówka’ and ‘Mini Mrówka’ markets), Celsa Huta Ostrowiec based in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Enea Elektrownia Połaniec in Zawada near Połaniec (energy production), MAN BUS from Starachowice (production of trucks and buses), NSG Group in Poland in Sandomierz (manufacturer of car windows and Pilkington brand industrial glass), Cersanit based in Kielce (bathroom ceramics), Lafarge Cement from Małogoszcz (cement production), Kolporter based in Kielce (press distribution), Echo Investment Capital Group (investment and development services), Barlinek Capital Group in Kielce (production of wooden floors), Frega Frejowski, Garbol in Kielce (wholesale), ZPUE Capital Group in Włoszczowa (production of electrical power equipment), Mesko in Skarżysko-Kamienna (manufacture of weapons and ammunition), Dyckerhoff Polska in Nowiny (manufacture of cement), Cerrad Sp. z o.o. in Starachowice (production of stoneware and clinker tiles), the District Dairy Cooperative in Włoszczowa (dairy processing), Bimerg from Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (steel processing, production of steel roof tiles and other roofing materials), Alma Alpinex from Piekoszów (food wholesaler), Vive Textile Recycling, Vive Group’s logistics centre in Kielce, Trzuskawica in Nowiny (production of building materials), Ekoplon from Grabki Duże (manufacturer of animal feed and fertilisers), MG Green Energy from Jędrzejów (renewable energy sources, construction of photovoltaic farms), STAR GRES from Końskie (manufacturer of stoneware tiles), Fabryka Kotłów Sefako from Sędziszów, Grupa Azoty, Kopalnie i Zakłady Chemiczne Siarki Siarkopol from Grzybów.

The economic activity rate of the inhabitants of the Świętokrzyskie Province aged 15-89 in the fourth quarter of 2022 stood at 56.6%, i.e. 0.6 pp higher than a year earlier. When broken down by gender, the higher value was still recorded for men – 63.2%, compared to 50.4% among women. A higher level of activity was observed among rural residents (58.4%) than urban ones (54.4%). The following age groups had the highest economic activity levels: 45-54 age group (90.1%), 35-44 age group (88.1%) and 25-34 age group (85.3%). The highest economic activity rate by far is recorded among people holding a higher education degree (81.4%).

In 2022, registered unemployment decreased to 34,029 persons, i.e. by 10.5%. The rate of decrease was higher than at the national level, where it was 9.3%. An increase in the number of registered persons was observed at the beginning of 2023, while a systematic decrease has been observed since March. At the end of the first half of 2023, the number of unemployed persons stood at 33,450, i.e. 1.3% less than a year ago. The registered unemployment rate in June 2023 stood at 7.6% (a decrease of 0.1 pp over a year). The variation in the rate among districts of the Świętokrzyskie Province was 11.4 pp. The lowest rate was recorded in the Busko-Zdrój district (4.0%) and the highest in the Opatów district (15.4%).

Links:

Provincial Labour Office in Kielce	http://wupkielce.praca.gov.pl
Statistics and analyses – Świętokrzyskie Province	https://wupkielce.praca.gov.pl/rynek-pracy/statystyki-i-analizy/
Occupational Barometer – Świętokrzyskie Province	https://barometrzawodow.pl/
Statistical Office in Kielce	http://www.stat.gov.pl/kielce

A survey of labour demand among entities employing one or more persons shows that, at the end of 2022, the number of jobs (occupied and vacant) in the Świętokrzyskie Province was 292,000, almost 5% more than a year before. The number of filled positions has increased, while the number of vacancies has decreased. 10,500 new jobs were created over the year (i.e. 12,8% less than in the previous year). Offers of vacancies continued to exceed the jobseekers’ capacity to cover them. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, the entities surveyed had 1,400 vacancies (21.5% less than in the previous year). In terms of the type of business, the predominant units were those classified as manufacturing, accounting for 39.3% of total vacancies. A large number of vacancies were also held by entities operating in the construction, accommodation and catering, trade, as well as motor vehicle repair sections (the aforementioned sections generated almost 1/3 of all vacancies). The largest number of vacancies were available for industrial workers and craft workers (26.2%) and plant and machine operators and assemblers (19.7%). Job vacancies for these professions remained mainly in the manufacturing section, where 36.0% of the vacancies in this section were allocated to operators and assemblers of machinery and equipment and 26.7% for industrial workers and craft workers.

The highest number of new jobs were created in:

manufacturing	16,9%,
trade, repair of motor vehicles	16,7%,
construction	15.5%,
education	12.6%
transportation and storage	7.7%.

In 2022, 5,500 more jobs were created than cut (similar to the previous year). A positive job balance was observed in all sections, with the highest balance recorded in construction (+800 jobs) and trade; repair of motor vehicles (+700). In 2022, there were more than two new jobs created per job lost. The most favourable relationship analysed was in the education section, where there were more than five times as many new positions as there were terminations.

The results of the 2023 ‘Occupational Barometer’ survey show that high labour demand and the associated staff shortage phenomenon persist in the Świętokrzyskie Province. The survey shows that in 2023, staff shortages in the region are forecast for 26 occupations, with their share of the demand structure reaching 15.9%. The largest difficulties with filling vacancies are in construction (9 professions), in which the following occupations are in demand: concrete placers and finishers, pavers, carpenters and joiners, construction installation assemblers, bricklayers and plasterers, earthmoving plant operators and mechanics, building finishers, building workers, wood treaters and joiners. There is also a shortage of workers in: medical and nursing care (4 professions: doctors, nurses and midwives, psychologists and psychotherapists, carers of older persons or persons with disabilities); metal processing (3 professions: welders, toolmakers, machine tool operators); transport and storage (4 professions: heavy truck and semi-trailer truck drivers, bus drivers, motor vehicle mechanics, stock clerks); education (4 professions: vocational subject teachers, teachers of practical vocational training, teachers of special schools and integrated classes, teachers of general education subjects) and in such professions, as: electricians, electrical equipment repairers and installers, independent accountants.

137 occupations were forecast to be balanced at the provincial level. The share of this group of occupations has increased to 83.5% and is the highest over the eight editions of the survey. The following shortage occupations were balanced: construction roofers and sheet-metal workers, physiotherapists and massage therapists, hairdressers, cooks, metal construction assemblers, bakers, road and railway construction workers, paramedical practitioners. Four occupations went from surplus to balance: educational counsellors, travel and tourism service workers, administrative specialists and food and nutrition technology specialists.

Meanwhile, the number of surplus professions is decreasing from year to year. Currently, more jobseekers than available jobs are expected only among economists.

The high demand for employees is confirmed by an analysis of the employment offers and occupational activation places reported to the district labour offices. Over the course of 2022, employers reported 27,610 offers to district labour offices in the Świętokrzyskie Province, i.e. 1,600 (6%) more than in 2021.

The occupational structure of the job offers notified reflects the economic profile of the region. In highest demand were: industrial workers and craft workers (22.5% of all offers), elementary workers (20.7%) and service workers and sellers (19.1%). Compared to 2021, most occupational groups have seen an increase in demand, with more job offers going to both professionals (up 35%) and those performing simple jobs (up 26%).

Warmińsko-Mazurskie

The Warmińsko-Mazurskie (Varmia-Masuria) Region is located in the north-eastern part of Poland. Thanks to its outstanding natural features it is considered one of Poland’s most beautiful regions. The capital of the region: Olsztyn (over 168,000 inhabitants), other cities: Elbląg (over 114,000 inhabitants), Ełk (over 60,000 inhabitants). 31.4% of the province’s area is covered by forests, 6% by waters and 46.3% by farmlands. With an area of over 24,000 km², Warmińsko-Mazurskie is Poland’s fourth largest province. At the end of 2022, the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Province had 1,366,430 inhabitants, a decrease of 8,269 persons compared with the previous year. The province population represented 3.6% of the total population of Poland. The population density per 1 km² was 57 persons (the last place in the country jointly with the Podlaskie Province). 59.0% of the province’s population lived in cities. Women slightly outnumbered men in the total population at the end of 2022 (51.2%). 2022 saw a negative natural population change in the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Province, standing at -6.221. The rate of natural increase in 2022 was: -4.5.

Currently, the leading sectors of the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Province economy include tourism, healthy food production, timber industry, machinery and equipment production with the use of clean industrial technologies and renewable energy sources, ecological forestry, yacht manufacture and ecotourism. The following areas are considered to be of key importance to the region’s development: food industry focused on the production of high-quality food, furniture and timber industries, and water economy, seeking to make use of the region’s rich water resources, such as lakes and rivers and the Vistula Lagoon, for business purposes and healthy lifestyle.

According to data as of the end of the first half of 2023, 145,475 national economy entities were registered in the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Province, 96.2% of which were private sector entities. Most entities are registered in the following sections: wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, including motorcycles (17.0%), construction (15.4%), real estate activities (8.9%) and other service activities (8.4%).

Michelin Polska Sp. z o.o. (manufacture of tyres) is the biggest employer with over 4,500 workers. Other major employers in the region include: University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn; Wipasz S.A. (production of ready-made fodder for livestock); Meble Wójcik Sp. z o.o. (production of other furniture); Provincial Integrated Hospital in Elbląg; DBK Sp. z o.o. (wholesale and retail sale of other motor vehicles, excluding motorcycles); BRW COMFORT Sp. z o.o. (production of furniture); Szynaka Meble Sp. z o.o. (production of furniture); DFM Sp. z o.o. (production of other furniture); Zakłady Produkcyjno-Usługowe Prawda Sp. z o.o. (production of other furniture).

At the end of the first half of 2023, there were 38,907 unemployed persons in the region. Compared with June 2022, unemployment in the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Province increased by 1,250 persons, i.e. by 3.3%.

The unemployment rate in the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Province at the end of June 2023 stood at 8.3%, while the national rate was 5.0%. Compared to the situation in the previous year, the unemployment rate fell by 0.2 pp for the country and increased by 0.2 pp for the province. According to the LFS, the unemployment rate in the province at the end of the first quarter of 2022 stood at 3.0%, compared with 2.9% for Poland.

The economic activity rate in the first quarter of 2023 was 53.7% in the region (compared to the first quarter of 2022, it decreased by 1.8 pp), while the rate stood at 58.4% at the national level (58.0% in the first quarter of 2022). The employment rate in the region in the first quarter of 2023 stood at 52.1%, while the rate in Poland was 56.7%.

Links:

Provincial Labour Office in Olsztyn	https://wupolsztyn.praca.gov.pl/
Statistics and analyses – Warmińsko-Mazurskie Province	https://wupolsztyn.praca.gov.pl/rynek-pracy/statystyki-i-analizy/
Occupational Barometer – Warmińsko-Mazurskie Province	https://barometrzawodow.pl/modul/prognozy-na-plakatach?publication=prov…
Statistical Office in Olsztyn	https://olsztyn.stat.gov.pl/

Wielkopolskie

The Wielkopolskie Province (Greater Poland) is located in the central-western part of Poland and is the second largest province in Poland. The Wielkopolskie Province is home to approx. 3.5 million people. The largest settlement unit is the agglomeration of Poznań. Approximately 541,000 persons live in Poznań, which constitutes 15.46% of the region’s population. The Greater Poland is an important Polish region both in terms of infrastructure and because of its balanced economic development, characterised by considerable industrialisation, high technological level and great attractiveness for investors. The Wielkopolskie Region is also an important educational centre and its scientific potential is mainly concentrated in Poznań.

The Wielkopolskie Province ranks as one of the country’s leaders in the number of registered companies. Most companies operate in the following industries: wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, construction, professional, scientific and technical activities, and manufacturing

Investors interested in making investments in the Wielkopolskie Province could take advantage of special economic zones (SEZ) operating in the area until 30 June 2018: Kamiennogórska (Ostrów Wielkopolski, Odolanów), Kostrzyńsko-Słubicka (Buk, Nowy Tomyśl, Przemęt, Stęszew, Swarzędz, Wronki, Krobia, Śmigiel, Wągrowiec), Łódzka (Koło, Nowe Skalmierzyce, Opatówek, Ostrzeszów, Przykona, Turek, Słupca, Kalisz), Pomorska (Piła), Wałbrzyska (Jarocin, Kościan, Krotoszyn, Leszno, Rawicz, Śrem, Września, Kalisz) and Słupska (Rogoźno). The following sectors dominate in the subzones of the Wielkopolskie SSE: metal production, manufacturing, paper and printing, medical, automotive, transport service and logistics. The entire territory of Poland has been a special economic zone since 30 June 2018. In 2022, there were more than 6,200 commercial companies with foreign equity participation in the Wielkopolskie Province, the majority of which operated in industrial processing as well as food, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors, transport and manufacture and repair of machinery and equipment, logistics, as well as finance and trade. Foreign equity comes from, among others, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Japan, Ireland, Sweden and Spain.

The Wielkopolskie Province has the lowest unemployment rate in Poland. 46,464 persons were registered as unemployed in the province in June 2023, an increase of 5.2% compared with the same period in the previous year. The registered unemployment rate in the Wielkopolskie Province is 2.9%, while the unemployment rate in Poland is 5.0%. The highest unemployment rate was recorded in the Konin district – 7.4% (with 8.9% in the Konin district (rural district) and 5.6% in the City of Konin), the lowest unemployment rate in the Poznań district – 1.0%, Wolsztyn district – 1.8% and Kępno district – 1.8%.

In the first quarter of 2023, the province’s unemployment rate according to the LFS was 2.3%. The unemployment rate was 2.6% for men and 1.9% for women. The economic activity rate (as of the end of the first quarter of 2023) in the Wielkopolskie Province stood at 60.1%, compared with 58.4% for the whole country. The employment rate in the Wielkopolskie Province stood at 58.7%, i.e. it was 2% higher than the employment rate for Poland as a whole (56.7%).

The outbreak of war against Ukraine, rising inflation, increases in fuel, gas and electricity prices and transport problems have caused self-employed and micro-entrepreneurs to deregister or suspend their businesses. In the last year, 20,800 entities were deleted, an increase of 11.0% compared to the previous year. Additionally, at the end of the year, 59,800 entities suspended their business activities (19.1% more than in the previous year), which may indicate a desire to wait out a more difficult period in anticipation of an upturn in certain sectors of the economy.

The year 2022 was particularly difficult for businesses engaged in wholesale and retail trade. Companies in this sector have been at the forefront of closures throughout the year. The reasons for this are primarily to be found in the market concentration that has been going on for years, with large retail chains successively eliminating small outlets from the market. The dynamic rise in inflation may also be a factor. This is reflected in an increase in the price of many items traded by companies in the said section, as well as causing a reduction in consumption and an increase in the cost of living.

The problems faced by the economy since the beginning of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, almost throughout 2022, have not intensified collective redundancies in the Wielkopolskie Province.

Despite the difficult economic situation, an increase in average employment compared with 2021 was recorded in the Wielkopolskie Province throughout 2022. In the business sector, it amounted to 851,100 people and increased by 3.9% over the year (in the previous year, the increase was 1.9%).

Links:

Provicial Labour Office in Poznań	https://wuppoznan.praca.gov.pl/
Statistics and analyses – Wielkopolskie Province	https://wuppoznan.praca.gov.pl/rynek-pracy/statystyki-i-analizy
Occupational Barometer – Wielkopolskie Province	https://barometrzawodow.pl/#wielkopolskie
Statistical Office in Poznań	https://poznan.stat.gov.pl/

According to the data from the Statistics Poland, 3,700 entities notified vacancies in the Wielkopolskie Province as at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, i.e. 300 fewer than in the corresponding quarter of 2021.

Employers notified a total of 13,000 vacancies, i.e. 3.9% more than in the fourth quarter of 2021. Most of the vacancies were notified to district labour offices by companies representing the following sections: manufacturing (26.2% of all vacancies) and trade; repair of motor vehicles (19.7% of vacancies). A slightly smaller share of vacancies was offered by entities involved in construction, transport and storage.

The largest increase, more than twofold, in vacancies was observed among education employers.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the highest number of job offers, i.e. as much as 3,600, were notified for industrial workers and craft workers (most often, building workers and related workers). The largest demand for workers in this group was notified by employers in the construction and manufacturing sectors. Around 2,400 vacancies were addressed to plant and machine operators and assemblers, with over half of them addressed to drivers and vehicle operators. The need for these workers was reported mainly by employers from the transportation and storage, as well as manufacturing sectors. In addition, around 2,300 vacancies were offered to professionals. The greatest interest in specialists was reported by units related to manufacturing, trade, motor vehicle repair as well as information and communication.

In the first half of 2023, employers notified almost 34,900 vacancies and places of activation to district labour offices. In the second quarter of 2023, 15,625 job offers were available, i.e. approx. 19% less than in the previous quarter. Such a significant decrease in job offers notified to district labour offices is due to, among others, record low unemployment and a lack of skilled workers in registers. Most job offers in the first half of 2023 were provided by employers engaged in manufacturing, administrative and support service activities, public administration and national defence, trade, construction and transport. These sections together accounted for approximately 65% of all offers notified to public employment services.

In the first half of 2023, when providing job offers to district labour offices, employers most frequently required the following qualifications from potential employees: forklift/lift truck operating skills, driving licence (B-category driving licence, C+E-category driving licence), foreign language skills, welding licence, pedagogical qualifications, skills related to cash register operation and operation of industrial machinery. Whereas the competences most frequently required in job offers as notified include: team skills, accuracy, conscientiousness, communication skills, availability, ability to organise one’s own work, and motivation to work.

Zachodniopomorskie

The Zachodniopomorskie Province is located in the north-western part of Poland. It covers 113 municipalities and 21 districts. It is the fifth largest region in Poland, with an area of 22,900 km², and the eleventh in terms of the number of inhabitants (1,641,000 in December 2022). The majority of the region’s population are urban dwellers, i.e. 68.1%. Women predominate among the inhabitants of the province – 51.5%.

The economic activity rate of the province’s population in the first quarter of 2023 stood at 56.9% (58.4% at the national level). This ratio was higher for men – 64.2% compared to 50.2% for women. Higher economic activity rates were recorded for urban residents, i.e. 58.4%, compared to 53.6% for rural residents.

Persons aged 35-44 (90.0%) and 45-54 (89.1%) were the most economically active, whereas persons aged 15-24 (24.1%) were the least active. Persons with higher education were the most active (76.4%), whereas the lowest activity rate was recorded for persons with lower secondary education and below (15.4%). The employment rate in the province in the first quarter of 2023 stood at 55.5%, an increase of 1.9 pp compared with 2022.

According to the labour demand survey carried out by the Statistics Poland, at the end of 2022, 423,500 persons were employed in the Zachodniopomorskie Province (3.4% of all employed persons in Poland), compared with 407,000 persons at the end of 2021.

The analysis of data on the number of persons employed by sector shows that the majority (70.2%) were employed in the private sector. At the end of 2022, more than half of the total workforce in the Zachodniopomorskie Province performed work in large enterprises (more than 49 employees). In the period considered, persons working in medium-sized companies represented 26.1% of all employed persons, while the employment level in small companies was 21.3%.

20,100 new jobs were created in the Zachodniopomorskie Province in 2022, compared with 19,800 in the previous year. 10,400 jobs were lost in the region in 2022, compared with 9,300 in 2021.

38,200 unemployed persons were entered into the registers of labour offices in the Zachodniopomorskie Province as of the end of June 2023, a decrease of 1,450 persons (3.7%) compared with the previous year. The registered unemployment rate stood at 6.4%, a decrease of 0.2 pp compared with the same period in 2022. At the end of June 2023, the share of persons aged up to 30 was 21.3% compared with 20.3% in the previous year.

Nearly 39,100 vacancies and places of professional activation were registered at the Zachodniopomorskie Province’s labour offices from January to June 2023, compared with 42,400 offers in the same period of the previous year.

Now, the situation on the labour market in the province is balanced and the region is dealing with a stabilised unemployment rate and is even seeing declines. In June 2023, the outflow from unemployment in the Zachodniopomorskie Province exceeded the inflow by 2,000 persons, and the number of jobseeker’s allowances was reduced. The most recent data for June 2022 show that the situation on the labour market in the region is better and comparable to the year 2022.

According to the National Official Business Register (REGON), 245,300 national economy entities were registered in the Zachodniopomorskie Province as of the end of 2022, an increase of 2.2% compared with the previous year. The most common activities of the entities were related to trade; repair of motor vehicles and construction.

Major employers in the Zachodniopomorskie Province include: Polish Steamship Company (Polska Żegluga Morska) in Szczecin, EUROAFRICA Linie Żeglugowe Sp. z o.o., Grupa Azoty Zakłady Chemiczne ‘Police’ S.A. in Police, Dolna Odra Power Plant Complex (Zespół Elektrowni Dolna Odra), Polferries Polska Żegluga Bałtycka S.A., Morska Stocznia Remontowa Gryfia S.A. in Szczecin, Fosfan S.A., Drobimex Meat Processing Plant (Drobimex Zakład Przetwórstwa Mięsnego) in Szczecin, Bridgestone Stargard Sp. z o.o., Cargotec Poland Sp. z o.o. in Stargard Szczeciński, Faymonville Polska Sp. z o.o., Witkowo Cooperative Agro-Company (Spółdzielcza Agrofirma Witkowo), LM Wind Power, Weber Polska Sp. z o.o., Barlinek Inwestycje Sp. z o.o., DGS Poland Sp. z o.o., Koszalińskie Przedsiębiorstwo Przemysłu Drzewnego S.A., Kabel-Technik-Polska Sp. z o.o., Kronospan Szczecinek Sp. z o.o., Homanit Polska, NordGlass Sp. z o.o., IKEA Industry Poland, RAMIRENT S.A., Borne Furniture Sp. z o.o., Albatros Nowe Czarnowo, Meden-Inmed Sp. z o.o., Rimaster Poland Sp. z o.o., OT Port Świnoujście, 3Shape Poland Sp. z o.o., BerlinerLuft, Technik Sp. z o.o., ABWood Sp. z o.o., STARGUM, Tepro S.A. Vacuum Technology Plant, Victoria Cymes Sp. z o.o., and PRIGNITZ Meble Pomorskie Sp. z o.o.

Links:

Provincial Labour Office in Szczecin	https://www.wup.pl
Statistics and analyses – Zachodniopomorskie Province	https://www.wup.pl/pl/dla-instytucji/statystyka-badania-i-analiza/
Zachodniopomorskie Labour Market Observatory	https://www.wup.pl/pl/dla-instytucji/zachodniopomorskie-obserwatorium-r…
Occupational Barometer – Zachodniopomorskie Province	https://barometrzawodow.pl/
Statistical Office in Szczecin	https://szczecin.stat.gov.pl/

The largest number of vacancies and occupational activation places registered in labour offices in Zachodniopomorskie Province in 2022 came from the following sections: manufacturing – 47.2%; construction – 9.7% and transport and storage – 8.3%, as well as health care and social welfare – 8.3%. The largest number of employment offers reported to labour offices was addressed to persons in the occupations of: elementary workers in mining; industry; construction and transport; industrial elementary workers; industrial elementary workers not elsewhere classified; financial and statistical and material accounting workers; workers in food processing; woodworking; textile production and related; material accounting and transport workers; stock clerks and related; operators of mining and processing machinery and equipment; construction and related workers (excluding electricians); drivers and vehicle operators.

According to the 2023 Occupational Barometer survey, it is estimated that there will be a shortage of the following occupations in the Zachodniopomorskie Province:

construction: concrete placers and finishers, pavers, carpenters and joiners, construction roofers and sheet-metal workers, construction installation assemblers, bricklayers and plasterers, earthmoving plant operators and mechanics, building finishers and building workers;
education: speech and language therapists and audiologists, early childhood teachers, practical vocational training teachers, teachers of general subjects, teachers of vocational subject, pre-school teachers, teachers of special schools and integrated classes, educational counsellors;
healthcare: physiotherapists and massage therapists, medical doctors, nurses and midwives, psychologists and psychotherapists, paramedical practitioners, and carers of older persons or persons with disabilities;
industry: electricians, electromechanics and electrical fitters, machine tool operators, meat and fish processors, welders, toolmakers;
transport/shipping/logistics: heavy truck and semi-trailer truck drivers, bus drivers, motor vehicle mechanics and repairers, stock clerks;
clerical staff: accounting and bookkeeping staff, social workers, independent accountants;
catering: cooks, kitchen helpers;
uniform services: uniformed services staff.

Labour market information: Poland

National Level

Short overview of the labour market

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Dolnośląskie

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Kujawsko-Pomorskie

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Lubelskie

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Lubuskie

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Łódzkie

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Małopolskie

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Mazowieckie

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Opolskie

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Podkarpackie

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Podlaskie

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Pomorskie

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Śląskie

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Świętokrzyskie

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Warmińsko-Mazurskie

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Wielkopolskie

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Zachodniopomorskie

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