Average gross monthly pay in Poland’s enterprise sector reached PLN 9,173.24 in May 2026, up 5.8% year on year. At the same time, employment fell by 0.9%, confirming an increasingly clear trend: companies are raising wages but becoming more cautious about creating new jobs. The highest average salaries are found in IT and professional services, while the sharpest employment declines have hit mining, manufacturing and energy.
Fewer jobs, higher pay. Wages rise by 5.8% even as employment continues to decline
In May 2026, the average gross monthly wage in Poland’s enterprise sector reached PLN 9,173.24, up 5.8% year on year. At the same time, the number of jobs fell by 0.9% from a year earlier to 6.38 million. This has become a persistent pattern in the Polish labour market: wages are rising despite a gradual but steady decline in employment.
The latest data from Statistics Poland reinforce a trend that has shaped the Polish economy for more than a year: the labour market is “slimming down”, while wages continue to rise. The number of jobs in the enterprise sector is steadily declining, yet companies are still increasing pay at an annual rate close to 6%. The average wage level was also influenced by the statutory minimum wage, which has stood at PLN 4,806 since January 2026, up 3.0%.
Wages: sustained growth interrupted by seasonal fluctuations
The average wage continues to follow a clear upward trend, rising from around PLN 6,000 at the beginning of 2022 to more than PLN 9,000 today. The May reading of PLN 9,173.24 was nevertheless 3.8% lower than in April. This was a purely seasonal effect: May saw fewer additional payments, including quarterly, annual and performance bonuses, as well as long-service awards, which had lifted wages in the previous month.
The characteristic wage peaks occur in December, March and April, when bonus payments are concentrated, and are followed by a correction. Despite these fluctuations, the underlying trend remains firmly upward, confirming continuing wage pressure among businesses.
Employment: quiet but persistent erosion
The employment picture is the reverse. After peaking in 2023 at more than 6.53 million full-time equivalents, the number of jobs has steadily declined. In May 2026, it stood at 6,377.4 thousand FTEs, down 0.9% year on year and 0.1% from April. Annual employment growth has remained below 100 for an uninterrupted period since mid-2023.
This is not a sudden collapse but slow erosion. Since the peak, the equivalent of more than 150,000 full-time jobs has disappeared. Such a pattern is typical of a mature labour market: companies are not conducting mass layoffs, but they are limiting new recruitment and not replacing every departing employee, while still competing for workers through pay.
Industries: where wages are highest and where jobs are disappearing
The gap in pay between sectors is substantial. The highest average salaries are offered in information and communication, at PLN 15,581, followed by professional, scientific and technical activities at PLN 12,504 and energy supply at PLN 12,136. At the other end of the scale is accommodation and food service activities, with an average wage of PLN 6,784. It is the lowest-paying section, but also one of the few that is still increasing employment.
The employment divide is equally pronounced. The deepest cuts were recorded in mining and quarrying, where employment fell by 5.5% year on year, followed by professional activities, down 2.0%, energy supply, down 1.6%, and manufacturing, down 1.4%. Only a few sectors increased employment, notably water supply and waste management, up 3.7%, as well as accommodation and food services, up 1.7%.
Full sector overview
| Sector | Wage (PLN) | Wage y/y | Jobs (thousand) | Employment y/y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENTERPRISE SECTOR | 9,173 | +5.8% | 6,377.4 | −0.9% |
| Information and communication | 15,581 | +7.1% | 309.2 | −0.8% |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 12,504 | +7.9% | 273.7 | −2.0% |
| Energy supply | 12,136 | +7.1% | 109.4 | −1.6% |
| Mining and quarrying | 11,536 | +2.3% | 113.5 | −5.5% |
| Real estate activities | 9,215 | +6.9% | 94.0 | −0.8% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 8,966 | +6.4% | 655.6 | −0.3% |
| Construction | 8,913 | +5.4% | 412.1 | −0.2% |
| Manufacturing | 8,723 | +5.1% | 2,301.1 | −1.4% |
| Trade; repair of motor vehicles | 8,398 | +6.6% | 1,285.8 | −0.7% |
| Water supply; waste management | 8,339 | +6.7% | 142.9 | +3.7% |
| Administrative and support service activities | 7,398 | +4.4% | 377.2 | −0.6% |
| Accommodation and food service activities | 6,784 | +5.9% | 141.0 | +1.7% |
Gross wages and employment in May 2026. Year-on-year changes compared with May 2025.
Conclusion for managers: the labour market has entered a phase in which wage pressure persists despite shrinking employment. The highest and fastest-growing salaries are concentrated in knowledge-intensive sectors, particularly IT and professional services, widening wage gaps between industries.
What this means
Key takeaways
- Wages are rising while jobs are declining. A 5.8% year-on-year increase in wages alongside a 0.9% fall in employment is now a persistent feature of a mature labour market: companies compete through pay rather than by expanding headcount.
- The monthly wage decline is seasonal. The 3.8% month-on-month correction reflects fewer bonus and award payments, not weaker wage pressure; the underlying trend remains upward.
- Knowledge-intensive sectors pay the most and are raising wages fastest. IT, at PLN 15,581, and professional services, with wage growth of 7.9% year on year, define the upper end of the market and deepen wage inequality.
- Mining is losing jobs fastest. A 5.5% year-on-year fall in employment combined with modest wage growth of 2.3% reflects the structural contraction of the sector.
- Consumer services are an exception. Accommodation and food services remain one of the few sectors expanding employment, despite having the lowest wages in the enterprise sector.
For employers, the key question is how long the divergence between rising wages and falling employment can last. Persistent wage pressure amid weakening demand for labour may put pressure on margins and productivity, particularly in lower-margin sectors where wage growth is not offset by gains in productivity.
Preliminary data for May 2026. The figures cover entities in the enterprise sector employing 10 or more people, surveyed under the DG-1 reporting system. Wages are presented in nominal gross terms. Source: Statistics Poland, “Average employment and wages in the enterprise sector in May 2026”, Statistical Office in Bydgoszcz. Own analysis based on Statistics Poland data.
