Traditionally, Ukrainian citizens came to Poland for seasonal work in the summer. However, they are now choosing Western European countries due to higher salaries and more open labor markets following Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Poland’s Central Statistical Office released data on the average salary across the country for the first quarter of 2024, which stood at 8,147.38 zlotys ($2,000), reflecting a 14.4% increase compared to the previous year.
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“You can now earn up to 9,000 zlotys ($2,300) in seasonal jobs,” said Mariana Semenyuk, Recruitment Director at the EWL.
“This typically involves short-term work in the agricultural sector, where wages are tied to working hours and productivity. Such work is suitable for people accustomed to physical labor. It is mostly chosen by Ukrainians who live in rural areas and have their own farms.”
Seasonal work can also include jobs in construction or logistics warehouses for clothing packaging, she said. With the approaching sales season, the logistics industry is seeing a significant increase in vacancies.
Polish employers offer jobs in manufacturing, the automotive industry, and the service sector, all of which experience a rise in vacancies during the summer season. However, there is a shortage of workers across these sectors. Employers in the service and hospitality industry are particularly struggling to find workers for salaries of 6,000 zlotys net ($1,530), while the transportation sector faces a significant shortage of drivers, estimated to be between 150,000 to 300,000.
“Poland has been experiencing such a serious labor shortage during the summer season for the second year in a row,” Semenyuk said.
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“This is due to the fact that Ukrainians, who traditionally came to Poland for seasonal work, can now earn two to three times more in Germany, the Netherlands, or other Western European countries.”
There were 50,500 vacancies in Poland as of March. The annual Occupational Barometer survey indicates a labor shortage in 27 professions this year, including trade, industry, healthcare, and social assistance. Even law enforcement agencies and schools are experiencing a shortage of personnel. Poland’s unemployment rate remains consistently low at 2.9%, the second lowest in the EU, the EU’s statistical office Eurostat said. The data from Poland’s Family Ministry, which has a different calculation methodology, the unemployment rate is 5.1%.
To address the labor shortage, Poland is recruiting workers from Asia and Latin America. While Ukrainians remain the largest group of registered foreign citizens in Poland’s Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), the proportion of workers from Asia and Latin America is steadily increasing.
The study “Migration 2.0. Poland in the Global Fight for Talent from Asia and Latin America,” conducted by the EWL Foundation in collaboration with the Center for East European Studies at the Warsaw University, said that young men aged 18 to 35 from Asian and Latin American countries are now filling vacancies that were previously occupied by Ukrainian citizens. Over the past two years, the number of work permits issued to Asians and Latin Americans in Poland has almost quadrupled.
About 4.3 million Ukrainians are currently living in EU countries, including about 860,000 adult men, Eurostat database estimates suggest. Of these, Poland has granted temporary protection status to 950,000 Ukrainians, the second highest number after Germany.
Polish protesters began to restrict traffic on the border with Ukraine on Feb. 20. Trucks were blocked at the Medyka-Shehyni, Dołhobyczów-Uhryniv, Zosin-Ustyluh, Korczowa-Krakivets, Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska, and Dorohusk-Yahodyn checkpoints.
Farmers put forward numerous demands, including abandoning duty-free trade with Ukraine and fully closing the Ukrainian-Polish border for trucks.
Polish farmers concluded their blockade on April 29, but the Ukrainian economy suffered significant losses.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Section: Life
Author: Владислава Топоркова
