Unemployment

The number of the unemployed registered in the Labour Offices amounted to 969 thousand persons by the end of 2018. In relation to the end of 2015, that means a decrease by 595 thousand persons (38 percent).

For the first time in 28 years (in June 2018), the number of unemployed people has decreased below one million.

The unemployment rate amounted to 5.8% at the end of 2018 and was almost 4 percentage points lower than at the end of 2015

According to preliminary data collected by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, at the end of June this year the number of unemployed persons decreased to 878.4 thousand and the unemployment rate has decreased to 5.3%.

Therefore, in relation to the end of 2015, the number of unemployed has decreased by 685 thousand people, i.e. by almost 44 percent, and the registered unemployment rate decreased by 4.4 percentage points.

The unemployment rate in Poland has been lower than the European Union average for several consecutive years. That fact is particularly important, as soon after joining the EU, Poland had the highest unemployment rate of all EU countries, while currently we are among countries with the lowest unemployment.

In 2015, the unemployment rate for people at working age in Poland was 7.6% in relation to 9.6% in the EU(28), which means that the rate in Poland was 2 percentage points lower than in the EU.

In subsequent years, the rate has been declining, i.e. in 2018 it amounted to 3.9% in Poland and was 3.1 percentage points lower than in the EU.

According to a Eurostat survey in May 2019, the unemployment rate in Poland was 3.8%. This is significantly below the European average - the unemployment rate in 28 countries of the European Union was 6.3%, and in countries of the Euro zone - 7.5%.

The numbers of employed persons continue to increase

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) shows that the number of employed in 2015 amounted to 16.1 million persons, in 2018 it increased to 16.5 million persons, i.e. an increase of 400 thousand persons. The number of persons employed for an indefinite period of time has also increased from 9.1 million in 2015 to almost 10 million in 2018.

The persistently high number of employees is a result of, among others, a high number of new job opportunities. According to the survey of labour demand conducted by the Central Statistical Office, 595.8 thousand new jobs were created in 2015, 618.8 thousand in 2016, over 694 thousand in 2017, and 717.8 thousand in 2018.

A high number of job offers submitted to Labour Offices also contribute to the increase in the number of employed and the decrease in unemployment, apart from a high number of created jobs. In the last 4 years, the number of offers submitted to Labour Offices was higher than in previous years. In 2018, employers submitted over 1.5 million job offers, of which 278.1 thousand were subsidised job offers (18% of all submitted offers). In the first half of the current year, 726 thousand job offers were submitted to Labour Offices.

The salaries of Polish citizens are also increasing - at an average rate of 7% per year.

We are getting closer to the EU average

Due to the positive changes in the Polish labour market the disparity between Poland and the EU average is decreasing annually in terms of the key economic indicators.

In 2018, the economic activity rate of the working age population (15-64 years) in Poland amounted to 70.1%, which is an increase of 2 percentage points in relation to 2015. In addition, the rate was only 3.6 percentage points lower than in the EU (70.1% vs. 73.7%), while in 2015 the difference amounted to 4.4 percentage points.

The employment rate in Poland also continues to grow, and the growth rate is much faster than in the EU. In 2015, the employment rate of people of working age amounted to 62.9% and was 2.7 percentage points lower than in the EU, while in 2018 it was only 1.2 percentage points lower (67.4% vs. 68.6%).

In 2018, Poland exceeded the target set in the Europe 2020 Strategy for the employment rate in the 20-64 age group - it amounted to 72.2% in comparison to the target of 71% for 2020.

Increased minimum wage

When determining the minimum wage for 2017, the government increased it from PLN 1850 to PLN 2000. In 2018, the minimum wage increased to PLN 2100. In 2019, the minimum wage was increased to PLN 2250, which means an increase of PLN 500 in relation to 2015. This is almost a 30% increase.

The government is proposing to increase the minimum wage next year to PLN 2450.

We have introduced a minimum hourly rate

As of 1 January 2017, a minimum hourly rate was introduced to specific civil law contracts. This regulation was introduced to limit the abuse of civil law contracts and to protect the persons with the lowest income. In the first year after introducing the new regulations, the minimum hourly rate was PLN 13 gross. In 2018, it amounted to PLN 13.70. In 2019, it amounted to PLN 14.70.

The Council of Ministers proposes to increase the minimum hourly rate next year to PLN 16

Alleviating the first day's pay syndrome

The next step in improving the labour conditions for employees will involve actions against the “first day's pay syndrome”. Beginning at 1 September 2016, employers are required to issue a written confirmation of the terms and conditions of an employment contract previously concluded with an employee if the employment contract was not concluded in writing. That must be done before the employee is admitted to work. The regulation is more effective in counteracting the employment of illegal workers, i.e. without written confirmation of the conditions of their work.

Other changes

Provisions discriminating against workers on the basis of length of service have been abolished. From 2017, all employees, regardless of their length of service, receive the same minimum wage. The previous law differentiated the amount of the minimum wage due to the length of service, which was disadvantageous mainly for young people - in the first year of employment they received at least 80% of the minimum wage.

From 2017 onwards, the night work allowance is not included in the minimum wage. The Council of Ministers proposes that the length of service allowance should also not affect the minimum wage. The draft of new regulations has already been adopted by the Council of Ministers. The new law shall enter into force on 1 January 2020.