Polish Labor Market Hits Record Employment Levels, Driven by Older Workers & Female participation
Warsaw, Poland – Poland’s labor market has reached unprecedented levels of employment, with a record 57.2% employment rate for those aged 15-89, according to recent data. This surge is coupled with a historic high professional activity rate of 59%. The data, analyzed by PKO BP, reveals a particularly notable increase in employment among older workers and women.
The number of employees aged 60/65-89 is steadily rising, currently standing at 831,000. Throughout the year,this demographic saw an addition of 39,000 workers – a significant proportion considering the total employee base was 84,000 at the time. This growth represents a 45,000 increase compared to the second quarter of the year, with sectors like power care seeing increased activity. Experts highlight the importance of continued employment for this age group, particularly in light of demographic shifts and its impact on pension benefits; the longer an individual works, the higher their eventual pension will be.
PKO BP analysts point to women as the primary drivers of growth in both the employment and professional activity rates.
While overall employment is strong,the unemployment rate,as measured by BAEL (Labor Force Barometer),has slightly increased to 3.1% of the professionally active population. This represents a rise of 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter and 0.2 percentage points year-on-year. However, analysts downplay concerns, noting the increase falls within one standard deviation and attributing it to ongoing restructuring within the labor market. They predict this rise in unemployment will be temporary, ultimately leading to improved efficiency in labor resource allocation and increased economic productivity.
“The current increase in the unemployment rate is within one standard deviation, which further rejects the thesis of significant problems in the labor market, although the ongoing wave of restructuring will favor a further increase in the number of unemployed people. However, we estimate that this will be a temporary phenomenon,” PKO BP economists stated.
Sectorally,services remain the largest employer with 10.821 million people employed, followed by industry at 5.325 million, and agriculture with just over 1 million.Industry experienced a significant year-on-year and quarter-to-quarter increase of 119,000 jobs, particularly in industrial processing (up 86,000), construction (+47,000), and transport and warehousing (+39,000). Conversely, wholesale and retail trade, including vehicle sales, experienced a decline of 89,000 jobs.
It’s vital to note that BAEL’s unemployment rate differs from the Central Statistical Office (CSO) reading, which stood at 5.6% for October. BAEL defines unemployment as actively seeking and being ready to accept a job.
