A month ago we reported on FXMAG that the number of foreigners working in Poland was 1,138,000. At that time we cited data from the Central Statistical Office. It turns out that this number may be even higher. According to data presented by the Social Insurance Institution, the number of foreigners working in Poland should already be over 1,300,000 people. Compared to 2014, this means almost a tenfold increase.
Most employees from Ukraine
The largest group of foreigners employed in Poland are Ukrainians. This trend has not changed for several years. The biggest influx of Ukrainian workers in recent years occurred in 2022, after the outbreak of a full-scale war in which Russia attacked Ukraine. Currently, according to data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS), Ukrainians make up more than 67% of all foreigners working in Poland. That is almost 772,000 people.
“I must admit, however, that among the people who appear to us now, they are individuals with higher education who consciously seek work, not taking the first better offer. Those who were in a more difficult situation, which required them to find employment just to survive, mostly found such work,” said Krzysztof Kalita, president of the Association Integration Europe-East, in an interview with FXMAG.
The second place in this ranking is taken by Belarusians, whose share in this group is almost 10.5%. That is almost 119,000 people. In total, people from 150 countries worldwide are expected to work in our country. Other groups that play a significant role in the Polish labor market are Georgians, with over 24,000 (2.1%), Indians with 23,000 people (2%), Colombians over 19,000 people (1.7%) and Filipinos about 15,000 people (1.3%).
The majority of foreigners perform the simplest jobs
Many foreigners employed in Poland perform tasks unrelated to their education or professional experience. Only in the case of Ukrainians, 57% of people do not work in accordance with their experience or education. Only 21% of them perform work that matches the skills they possess.
The most common barriers are the language barrier and the lack of certification that would confirm the education and skills possessed. This causes foreigners to often choose simple jobs in sectors where there is a labor shortage.
The most foreigners work in services related to administration and support, almost 227,000 people. A large group also consists of workers in industrial processing – over 208,000 people, and in transport and warehousing – 156,000 people, in construction – almost 139,000 people, in trade – over 94,000 people, and in accommodation and gastronomy – over 75,000 people.
Demand for workers also determines where foreigners take up work. There are the most of them in the voivodeships: Masovian – 275,000, Lower Silesian – over 133,000, Greater Poland – over 121,000, Silesian – 96,000, Lesser Poland – almost 88,000, Pomeranian – over 80,000 and Łódź – almost 76,000.
Not only entire regions, due to the large number of vacancies in the labor market, attract foreigners. Individual counties also attract them where there is a high demand for labor. In Słupsk County, foreigners account for 20% of all foreigners working in Poland. In Pruszków County over 18%, and in Oława County almost 18%. Foreigners also have a large share in the labor market in cities. In Świnoujście it is over 18.1%, and in Wrocław 17.8%.
Interestingly, for many of these people Poland is just one of the stages on their professional path. Studies show that many foreigners treat our country as a stop on the way to Western Europe. In Poland they gain experience that they later offer to employers in Germany, Belgium, France or the Netherlands.
See also: The labor market is no longer a labor market? There are professions where it is increasingly difficult to get hired
