Registered unemployment rate in Poland 1990-2021

The rate of unemployment decreased from 9.5 percent in 2008 to 5.4 percent in December 2021. The highest registered unemployment rate was recorded in 2012 and 2013 at the level of 13.4 percent.

Unemployment in Poland

In 2020, more than 15.8 million people were working in Poland, and the employment rate has increased by 15.2 percentage points since 2001. As a result, Poland also registered one of the lowest unemployment rates in the European Union. The average level of unemployment in the EU in 2020 was seven percent. In Poland, it was 3.2 percent.
Warmian-Masurian voivodeship (8.6 percent) registered the highest level of unemployment. On the contrary, the lowest rate was recorded in Wielkopolskie voivodeship (3.1 percent). The most significant difficulties in finding a job in 2020 were experienced by young people - aged 25 to 34 years and those with lower secondary and incomplete primary education. Women were also more likely to have unemployed status than men. Nevertheless, looking for a new job in Poland is relatively short and depends on age. People aged over 50 observed the longest period of searching for a new.

Economic emigration

Poland has struggled with a high emigration rate since the labor transition period. However, since 2016, the migration balance has been improving, and the number of people emigrating from Poland is slowly stabilizing. Despite low unemployment, increasing job offers, and a strengthening labor market, 16 percent of Poles were considering economic emigration in September 2021. The people who most often go abroad to work are manual workers. Seven out of 10 people had elementary, vocational, or secondary education. The prevailing reason for leaving was higher wages than those offered at home. The most popular countries for working abroad in 2020 were the Netherlands and Germany.