The registered unemployment rate stood at 5.9% at the end of May 2026, while the number of registered unemployed people reached 915.9 thousand. On a monthly basis, the rate fell by 0.1 percentage points compared with April, in line with the seasonal spring pattern. Year on year, however, the unemployment rate was 0.8 percentage points higher than in May 2025 (5.1%), indicating a visibly looser labour market than a year earlier.
24 June 2026 · Own analysis based on Statistics Poland data
May 2026 in figures
At the end of May 2026, the registered unemployment rate stood at 5.9%. This was 0.1 percentage points lower than a month earlier, when it reached 6.0% in April, and 0.8 percentage points higher than a year earlier, when it stood at 5.1% in May 2025. In the first months of 2026, the rate remained in the 6.0–6.1% range, making the May reading the first this year to fall below 6%.
Registered unemployment rate — May 2025 to May 2026 (%)
| Comparison | Reference period | May 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly (m/m) | 6.0% (April 2026) | 5.9% | −0.1 pp |
| Annual (y/y) | 5.1% (May 2025) | 5.9% | +0.8 pp |
Monthly perspective: seasonal relief
The 0.1 percentage-point fall compared with April fits the typical seasonal pattern of the labour market. In spring, demand for workers rises in construction, agriculture, horticulture and tourism, which usually reduces registered unemployment after the winter peak. The May correction was modest, however: the rate remains close to 6%, clearly above the levels recorded in the corresponding months of the previous two years.
Annual perspective: labour market looser than a year ago
The annual difference is the more meaningful signal. The increase of 0.8 percentage points compared with May 2025 provides the clearest picture of the change in labour-market conditions, as comparing the same month eliminates seasonal fluctuations. The readings for 2025 and 2026 are based on a uniform methodology, following a revision resulting from the 2021 National Population and Housing Census, and are therefore fully comparable. The scale of the increase indicates that labour demand weakened over the year, while the number of people registering as unemployed is higher than twelve months earlier.
Regional differences in May 2026
With the national average at 5.9%, the gap between regions remained substantial. The lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Greater Poland at 3.7%, Mazovia at 4.5% and Silesia at 4.8%. At the other end of the scale were Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship at 9.4%, Subcarpathian Voivodeship at 9.1% and Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship at 8.5%. The gap between the two extremes amounted to 5.7 percentage points.
Registered unemployment rate by voivodeship — May 2026 (%)
Reference line: national average of 5.9%. Amber indicates a rate below the average, while navy indicates a rate above it.
The May decline in the unemployment rate by 0.1 percentage points month on month was seasonal in nature. More telling is the annual increase of 0.8 percentage points, signalling that the labour market is now looser than it was in May 2025.
Key takeaways
- The registered unemployment rate stood at 5.9% in May 2026, with 915.9 thousand people registered as unemployed.
- Month on month, the rate fell by 0.1 percentage points, in line with the seasonal spring pattern.
- Year on year, the rate increased by 0.8 percentage points compared with May 2025, when it stood at 5.1%.
- The annual comparison is fully methodologically consistent, based on a uniform framework following the 2021 census revision.
- The regional gap amounted to 5.7 percentage points, from 3.7% in Greater Poland to 9.4% in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship.
The data concern the registered unemployment rate, measured at the end of the month. Data source: Statistics Poland. Own analysis based on Statistics Poland data.
