Unemployment in Poland remains among the lowest in the European Union, but the first cracks are beginning to show beneath the surface of strong headline data. The labour market has not come to a halt, but it has started to change. The number of job offers is falling, demand for workers is shifting, and it is becoming increasingly clear that some groups \u2014 especially young people and workers over 50 \u2014 are moving outside the mainstream of the labour market.<\/p>\n
Macroeconomic data may suggest an almost idyllic picture of the Polish labour market. Unemployment in Poland is among the lowest in the European Union: according to Eurostat, the BAEL unemployment rate stands at around 2.8\u20133%, compared with an EU average of about 6%. At the same time, data from Statistics Poland send an optimistic signal that the market remains in good shape. In March 2026, wages in companies exceeded the threshold of PLN 9,600 gross, while industry recorded a strong rebound of more than 8% \u2014 a result significantly better than forecasts, which may point to a smaller scale of layoffs in the near future.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem is that statistics can be misleading. Unemployment is still low, but that does not mean nothing is happening in the market. On the contrary, the first signs of cooling are visible. This is not a sudden collapse, but a gradual, systemic change that is beginning to affect more and more areas of the labour market,\u201d says Tomasz Szklarski, labour market expert and co-founder of Enpulse, a modern HR platform supporting employers in working with employee engagement.<\/p>\n