The backbone of the economy: over 67% of foreign workers in Poland are Ukrainians
15 July 2025 12:20
According to the General Statistical Office (GUS) of Poland, at the end of January 2025, 1 million 45 thousand foreigners were officially employed in the country, which is 4.5% more than in January 2024. These figures confirm that migrant workers remain a key part of the Polish labor market. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Polish media.
At the same time, compared to December 2024, the number of foreigners working officially decreased by 1.8%. Experts attribute this to seasonal fluctuations in the labor market, particularly in agriculture, construction, and the service sector. The share of foreigners among all those employed in Poland is currently 6.4%.
The January GUS report pays special attention to those working under civil law contracts (in particular, umowa zlecenia). Almost 399 thousand such workers were recorded. This is 3.3% more than a year ago, but 3.8% less than in December. Analysts note that this indicates flexibility in hiring foreigners and a possible temporary reduction after the New Year holidays.
Citizens of Ukraine traditionally make up the largest share of foreign workers. According to the GUS, 701,800 Ukrainians were officially employed in January, which is approximately 67% of all foreigners on the Polish labor market. In annual terms, their number increased by 2.2%, but decreased by 1.7% compared to December.
It is worth noting that this data does not include people working in the shadow economy, which means that the actual number of foreigners working may be even higher.
