Over 1 million foreign nationals were employed in Poland by the end of last year, accounting for 6.5 percent of the total workforce, according to Statistics Poland (GUS).
Throughout 2022, there was a month-over-month rise in the number of migrant workers living in the country. By the end of December, a total of 1,004,400 foreign nationals were legally registered to work in Poland, up a considerable 27.3 percent from the figure reported in January last year.
With the increasing number of migrant workers in Poland, their percentage of the total workforce also grew: from 5.2 percent in January 2022 to 6.5 percent by the end of 2022. GUS reports that most foreigners worked in national economic sectors related to administrative services and support activities. This type of work covers many jobs that support business operations but do not require specialized knowledge.
Foreigners working in 2022 came from over 150 countries.
The majority were Ukrainian citizens, which represented around 73 percent of the analyzed population. The second-largest group of foreigners working in Poland was from Belarus, which accounted for around 10 percent.
Citizens from each of the other countries made up less than 3 percent of Poland’s working foreign nationals.
The issue, however, has become a flash point for the ruling conservative government, especially as the amount of foreigners from non-European countries soars higher.
As Remix News previously reported, in 2022, there was a 240 percent increase in Polish work permits for Turks, 171 percent for Indians, 122 percent for Uzbeks, 85 percent for Nepalese, and 70 percent for Filipinos. Due to the “liberal” immigration policy, even left-wing news outlets have taken notice of Poland’s rapid shift towards a multicultural society.
The left-liberal opposition in Poland is now pointing to the fact that Poland has steadfastly opposed the relocation of migrants from Africa and the Middle East, while at the same time importing foreign workers, often from these same countries.
