📊 Exclusive Research Report · 9cv9 Research Team · 2026
The State of Hiring & Recruitment
in Poland for 2026
in Poland for 2026
100+ Data Points · Labour Market · Salaries · Talent Shortages · HR Technology · Foreign Workers
~5.3%
National Unemployment Rate (GUS 2025)
17.36M
Total Employed Q3 2025 (Record High)
PLN 8,904
Avg Gross Monthly Salary 2025
112,000
Unfilled Job Vacancies Q1 2025
1.2M+
Foreign Workers in Poland (Sep 2024)
01 · Employment Landscape
17.36M
Employed persons in Q3 2025 — a historic record, up ~84,000 from a year earlier (GUS)
59%
Labour force participation rate (ages 15–89), Q3 2025, up from 57.7% in Q1 2021 (Trading Economics)
84.8%
Labour participation rate for working-age population (18–retirement age), Q3 2025 (GUS)
5.3%
Unemployment rate (GUS/national methodology), Jan 2025; Eurostat measure: 2.6% — among EU's lowest
79%
Employment rate for ages 20–64 in 2025, above the EU average (GGIMS/Eurostat)
18.2M
Total labour force (employed + active job seekers), per GUS Central Statistical Office
02 · Wages & Salaries
PLN 8,904
Record-high average gross monthly salary 2025, with +5.5% real wage growth YoY (Statistics Poland)
PLN 6,540
Median monthly salary (Yotru.com, 2026) — significantly below mean, signalling wage inequality
13–14%
Nominal wage growth in 2024; expected to slow to 5–6% in 2026–2027 (NBP/Yotru)
03 · Talent Shortages & Vacancies
1.5M
Projected labour shortage by 2026 (experts cited by Kono.jobs / Edstellar)
200K
Estimated construction industry worker deficit in 2026 (Kono.jobs). 7 in 10 construction businesses affected.
275%
ICT vacancies above national average for all jobs (Edstellar.com) — Poland urgently needs more IT professionals
112,000 job vacancies unfilled in Q1 2025 despite active recruitment (GUS)
95,700 vacancies remaining at end Q2 2025 (Eurostat/GUS)
80%+ of SMEs report struggling to find sufficient workers (Kono.jobs 2026)
25% of companies reported a decline in workforce availability vs 2023 (PIE, Jan 2025)
53% of employers anticipate difficulty finding qualified candidates in 2025 (Valians International)
88% of businesses indicated increased hiring expenses in 2025 vs prior year (PIE)
22,000 unfilled roles in industrial processing — highest sector vacancy count (Kono.jobs)
50% of surveyed companies identify labour shortage as major operational barrier (PIE, June 2025)
04 · Employer Hiring Plans 2025
86%
Employers plan to hire in 2025 (Valians International / Randstad Poland 2025)
20%
Polish companies planning to increase employment in 2025 (PIE, January 2025)
67%
Companies planning NO change in workforce size in 2025 — market stability (PIE)
10%
Companies planning to reduce employment; lowest in large enterprises (6%) & services (7%) (PIE)
49%
Employers recruiting to accommodate business growth; 35% replacing departing employees (Valians)
25%
Construction sector — highest proportion of firms planning employment increase (PIE, 2025)
05 · Foreign Workers & Immigration
2M+ work visas issued over past 3 years (Y-Axis.com, 2025)
1.2M foreign workers in Poland as of September 2024 (Kono.jobs)
Gov't 2025–2030 strategy targets 12% of workforce to be foreign by 2030
Registered foreign workers decreased ~5% vs 2023 (Valians International 2025)
Top origins: Ukrainians, Belarusians, Nepalese, Indians, Filipinos (AtoZ Serwis Plus)
56% of Poles aged 18–44 consider work emigration abroad (Kono.jobs 2026)
06 · IT & Technology Sector
800K+
IT professionals in Poland — premier tech hub in Central & Eastern Europe (Bulldogjob 2025)
$31.6B
Poland ICT market projected value 2025, growing at ~10.15% CAGR (Techneeds.com)
PLN 114B
ICT sector projected PLN value in 2025 — fastest growing segment (Verita HR 2025)
36%
AI adoption rate in Poland — highest in the EU (Edstellar.com / EU Commission data)
700K
Additional IT specialists Poland needs by 2035 (Verita HR, Bulldogjob IT Report)
+28%
Average salary premium offered to attract AI/cybersecurity specialists in Poland (Edstellar)
07 · Remote Work & Flexible Arrangements
+40%
Higher job offer acceptance rate when hiring process is 2–3 weeks (transparent/fast) — Techneeds 2025
1.8 yrs
Median professional tenure in Poland (LinkedIn data, AllenRec 2025)
4.2 yrs
Average employment length per position in 2024, rising — signals improved retention (Valians)
08 · Corporate Employment & Structural Trends
−0.8%
YoY decline in corporate sector employment (enterprises >9 employees) through mid-2025 — 26th consecutive month (Kono.jobs)
6.41M
Total corporate sector employed (Nov 2025) — structural weakness despite broader record employment (Kono.jobs)
37.2%
Employees working in micro companies (<9 workers) — most common employer size (EURES Poland)
36.5M
Poland's population in 2024 (down from 38.5M peak in 2012) — projected to reach 29.4M by 2060 (GUS)
−2M
Projected working-age population decline by 2040 (Statistics Poland forecast via EURES)
15%
Share of Polish workforce directly affected by minimum wage increases in 2025 (9cv9 Research / GUS)
09 · HR Technology & AI in Recruitment
AI adoption in HR growing at ~35% per year globally — Poland among EU leaders in AI adoption (Yomly / Edstellar)
3.17M LinkedIn users in Poland — 28th globally, more than Japan (Verita HR / Apollo Technical)
AI tools reduce time-to-hire by 50% and cut hiring costs by 30% on average (Yomly)
75% of recruiters say AI improves candidate matching and resume screening (Statista / LinkedIn)
Pay transparency law: by June 2026, companies must disclose salary ranges in postings (Valians International)
Recruitment agency fees range 15–20% of candidate annual salary (AllenRec.com 2025)
68%
IT professionals satisfied with current roles yet open to compelling offers (Bulldogjob IT Report 2025)
60%
Employees actively seeking new jobs due to insufficient salaries (Valians International 2025)
48%
Employees motivated to switch jobs due to lack of career development prospects (Valians 2025)
10 · IT Professional Distribution & Experience Mix
43.5%
Mid-level IT specialists (3–7 yrs) form the market backbone in Poland (Bulldogjob 2025)
29.4%
Senior professionals (7+ yrs) in Poland's IT workforce — high demand, scarce supply
14.2%
Expert/Architect-level IT talent (10+ yrs) — strategic decision-makers (Bulldogjob 2025)
12.2%
Junior developers (1–3 yrs) in Poland's IT talent pool (Bulldogjob.com IT Report 2025)
7–8%
Expected salary increases for most roles in 2025; 10–15% in automation & robotics (Valians)
17%
Share of workers covered by collective wage agreements — most salaries individually negotiated (Target Poland)