According to the latest expert reports, Poland is facing a slowdown in the economy and labor market, as well as rising inflation. Find out how Ukrainians have reacted to the changes and why Poland is facing a shortage of workers from Ukraine

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A year ago, Poland announced a shortage of male workers from Ukraine due to the full-scale invasion of russia. In addition, a new wave of discussions about Ukrainian men abroad was triggered by the new procedure for keeping military records in Ukraine. We wrote more about the departure and the latest restrictions for men who have traveled to the EU here. 

However, today Poland is facing a new problem: in addition to a slowdown in the economy and rising inflation, the labor market has significantly reduced the number of offers from Ukrainian workers.

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What is the situation on the labor market in Poland?

According to the latest report of the Polish HR Forum, the first quarter of 2023 is characterized by a decline in the level of employed citizens. We are talking about 235 thousand people, which is 6% less compared to the beginning of 2022. In addition, the number of hours worked in full-time equivalent (FTE) decreased by 8%.

At the same time, Poland turned out to be one of the best places of economic migration for 20% of Ukrainians. The United States and Canada share the top spot with the same indicator. Germany took second place, with a labor market share of 16% among Ukrainians.

How did Ukrainians react to the changes in the Polish labor market?

According to experts, this year has been unprecedented, as Ukrainians used to wait in line for jobs, and now, on the contrary, the number of offers from employees has critically decreased.

The decline in the number of Ukrainians is observed in all sectors of the Polish labor market. However, the least noticeable outflow of people is in temporary/seasonal jobs, especially those where women can be employed.

Thus, due to a sharp decline in the number of available vacancies in early 2023, Ukrainians began to look for opportunities and employment in other countries, with a particular increase in workers from Ukraine in Western Europe and Canada.

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It is noted that the current trend of the outflow of Ukrainian workers from Poland may put pressure on wages, especially in the lowest-paid professions. We wrote more about how much Ukrainians are paid abroad here. 

What else motivates Ukrainians to look for work in other countries?

According to experts, one of the main advantages of working in Poland for Ukrainian citizens is the large Ukrainian diaspora within the country, as well as the geographical and cultural proximity between the two countries.

And it is the growth of the Ukrainian diaspora in more Western countries that encourages Ukrainian citizens to leave Poland and change their place of temporary residence. In recent months, there has been a rapid increase in the number of Ukrainian refugees in Canada. Thus, from January to April of this year, more than 190 thousand Ukrainians registered for a special migration program and came to Canada. In total, more than half a million Ukrainian citizens have already received a three-year emergency visa. 

We remind you! A significant number of Ukrainian citizens have been forced to seek temporary protection and settle down in European countries for more than a year. We told you what Ukrainians miss the most and what they would change in European countries in our previous article.

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