Despite boasting some of the lowest unemployment figures since 1990, the aging demographic and declining population are seen as imminent threats to productivity and economic stability.
Employer groups are thus urging the government to adopt a favorable stance towards "managed, necessary immigration" that could enhance Poland's economic prosperity while ensuring security and distinguishing between legal and illegal immigration activities.
These organizations emphasize that embracing a wider range of immigrants could help Poland continue to thrive economically and address labor shortages effectively, ensuring the country's continued growth and stability.
Poland’s labor market is currently robust with an unemployment rate that remains historically low and a high labor force participation rate.
According to the country’s statistics office GUS, labor force participation in the first quarter of 2024 stood at 58.5 percent for ages 15 to 89, while the European statistical office Eurostat reported a 77.9 percent rate for ages 20 to 64 in 2023 — one of the highest in the European Union.
However, the demand for workers across various sectors such as IT, transportation, judiciary, industry and construction, as well as hospitality, exceeds the supply.
The Polish Economic Institute (PIE), a Warsaw-based think tank, has reported a shortage of around 150,000 specialists in the IT sector alone.
The coalition of employer organizations, which includes the Business Centre Club, Polish Business Federation, Lewiatan and several other industry groups, expressed concern over the structural demographic issues that cannot be quickly resolved—even a sudden increase in birth rates would take about 20 years to impact the labor market.
They also argue that many of the approximately 2 million Ukrainian citizens currently in Poland may leave, especially if the conflict with Russia concludes, further straining the labor market.
Recent data from recruitment company Grupa Progres indicate that some 30 percent of Ukrainians residing in Poland plan to leave, with most eyeing countries such as Spain, Germany and the United States for relocation.
According to a report earlier this month by the Rzeczpospolita daily newspaper, Polish entrepreneurs are worried that stricter immigration policies from the government will make it more difficult for them to take on new staff.
(rt/gs)
Source: polskieradio24.pl