Thursday, 28 May 2026
Poland’s labour market showed signs of softening in May as the Labour Market Index (WRP), which anticipates future unemployment trends, increased by 0.7 points following two consecutive months of decline. The latest reading suggests that unemployment pressures may gradually rise in the coming months despite the current stability in official jobless figures.
According to the latest data, the registered unemployment rate fell marginally by 0.1 percentage points month-on-month to 6 percent in April. Analysts noted that the effects of legislative changes introduced in mid-2025 appear to be fading, with current movements in unemployment increasingly linked to broader economic conditions rather than regulatory factors.
The rise in the WRP index was driven by several negative indicators, while only the number of job offers registered with labour offices continued to support the labour market. Even so, the number of vacancies submitted to labour offices declined sharply in April, falling nearly 17 percent compared with March. Comparisons with the previous year remain difficult due to the transition from the CBOP platform to the ePraca system, which has affected statistical consistency.
At the same time, online recruitment activity showed some improvement. The Job Offer Barometer, which tracks internet job advertisements, recorded its second increase since the beginning of the year, partially offsetting the mild downward trend seen throughout 2024. Over a longer period, however, labour demand indicators have largely moved sideways without establishing a clear direction.
Business sentiment within the industrial sector also weakened. Surveys conducted by the Statistics Poland showed a deterioration in managers’ assessments of overall business conditions as well as hiring plans. Employment expectations among industrial firms moved further into negative territory, reflecting growing caution around workforce expansion.
Labour market experts noted that hiring processes typically involve delays between the publication of vacancies and successful recruitment outcomes. Despite some recovery in available vacancies, the number of unemployed people finding jobs declined by nearly 17 percent. Since early 2023, the pace of people leaving unemployment has remained broadly stable once seasonal factors are removed, suggesting persistent limitations in the effective labour supply available to employers.
Meanwhile, the number of newly registered unemployed people and redundancies linked directly to employer decisions remained largely unchanged month-on-month, indicating that the labour market slowdown remains gradual rather than abrupt.
Source: BIEC
