Poland’s Central Statistical Office has released its latest employment data. The average gross monthly salary in the enterprise sector, those employing more than nine people, was PLN 8,906 (€2,903), up 7.6 percent year-over-year in July.
This was slightly better than the 8.6 percent jump expected, while employment fell 0.9 percent year-over-year, a tad more than the .8 percent estimated drop.
Average employment in the enterprise sector was 6,431,800 full-time equivalent positions.
“The labor market is definitely entering a cooling phase. The rising unemployment rate among young people – according to Eurostat data, constantly shrinking employment and the decreasing number of reported job offers are causing the labor market to slowly lose the resilience it gained immediately after the pandemic,” commented Mariusz Zielonka, economic expert at the Lewiatan Confederation, quoted in a press release cited by ISBnews.pl.
The expert assessed that employers have begun to respond to rising labor costs.
“The largest reduction in employment (-2.5 percent year-over-year) is occurring in trade, an industry that is quite fragmented and, at the same time, vulnerable to rising costs amid lower-than-expected consumer demand,” the report noted. At the same time, rising labor costs meant that companies were less willing to raise wages in July.
According to Zielonka, companies are pursuing a “survival strategy,” which probably means not extending expiring temporary contracts or hiring new people for vacant positions.
An economic contraction has been ongoing in Poland, with new manufacturing orders falling for the fourth consecutive month in July. The S&P Global Poland Manufacturing PMI also registered 45.9 in July, up from 44.8 in June, but still below the 50 level required for indicating growth in the economy.
Poland’s PMI, struggling below 50 since 2022, had enjoyed a short-term blip into growth territory in March and April of this year, but fell back in May.
“Poland’s 2025 manufacturing recovery was derailed in May, as a sharper drop in new orders impacted output, purchasing and hiring. The PMI recorded its steepest one-month fall in nearly three years, with only suppliers’ delivery times having a positive contribution,” said Trevor Balchin, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Still, some companies believe things will still improve, with Reuters reporting that one-third see growth ahead, up from 24 percent in June.
The OECD currently projects GDP growth for Poland of 3.4 percent in 2025 and 3 percent in 2026; however, these estimates may not have taken into account Trump’s tariff war.
