The labor market in Poland 2025 is characterized by several important phenomena in short. There was an increase in the registered unemployment rate compared to the previous year, with a simultaneous decrease in the number of vacancies and offers of professional activation reported to the employment offices. The average monthly employment in the enterprise sector also decreased, while the average wage in this sector increased. In October 2025, the unemployment rate in the Member States of the European Union (EU-27) was 6.0%, while in Poland, according to the Labour Force Survey methodology, 3.2%, which places Poland relatively high compared to the rest of the EU countries.
However, the question arises as to what lies behind these and additional data presented in the report of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development Labour market, education, competences. Current Trends and Research Findings (November 2025). A Brief Picture of Polish Unemployment in 2025 Looking at the provincial landscape of the Polish labour market in 2025, we do not see significant surprises; among the regions with the highest unemployment rates are still Podkarpackie (9.0%), Warmian-Masurian (8.9%) and Świętokrzyskie (8.1%). These areas have been identified for years as regions with a structurally more difficult situation on the labour market, requiring measures to support the development of the local economy and entrepreneurship. In contrast to this situation are the voivodships with the lowest unemployment rate: Greater Poland (3.5%), Silesia (4.3%) and Mazovia (4.4%). In this case, too, it is not surprising; the Mazowieckie voivodship, with the capital of the country, has for years offered the largest and most diverse labor market, while Wielkopolska consistently ranks at the top of the regions with low levels of unemployment.Silesia, despite numerous economic changes, maintains a good position on the labor market thanks to its diverse employment structure.
WITH Data for October shows that among registered unemployed persons, women slightly predominated - there were 434.8 thousand of them, against 432.5 thousand men, which means a difference of 2.3 thousand people. Although the scale of this advantage is not great, it is in line with observations that have been present for years in labor market research. Although the level of education of women in Poland is steadily increasing, and in many educational groups women constitute the majority, this does not always translate into their situation on the labor market and employment opportunities.
Poland with the lowest unemployment rate in the EU
Analyzing the level of unemployment in Europe, it can be concluded that the situation in Poland is relatively favorable from the perspective of the worker; next to Malta, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, Poland has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the European Union. The concept of “relative happiness”, however, needs to be clarified. The registration of unemployment does not always reflect the real scale of the phenomenon, since some of the unemployed do not register with the employment offices, which means the existence of so-called hidden unemployment. Eurostat, when collecting data, relies on national statistical systems (in the case of Poland on GUS data), which means that these statistics do not always fully reflect all forms of unemployment. This does not mean that they are unreliable, but that their interpretation requires an awareness of methodological limitations.
In addition, a low unemployment rate does not always mean high quality employment. The availability of work does not guarantee adequate working conditions, decent pay or a stable form of contract. At the same time, for more and more entrepreneurs, finding the right employees is becoming a significant challenge.
Jobs in Poland: where is the problem?
Since we are already in the process of applying for a job, the question arises, where does the problem arise with obtaining suitable candidates for the positions offered. In the employer community, voices of helplessness and fatigue from long-term recruitments that do not bring the expected results are increasingly heard. As the results of the survey show, as many as 90% of candidates faced questions not directly related to the offered position. Thus, the root of the problem lies not only in the characteristics of the positions themselves, but in other elements of the recruitment process. More than 60% of respondents pointed to regularly recurring discrepancies between the content of the advertisement and the offer presented during the recruitment meeting. In turn, more than 40% of candidates have experienced practices such as unannounced additional recruitment stages, delays in meetings and discriminatory behaviour. These data show quite clearly that the lack of a reliable recruitment process is still a big problem in Poland, which can affect the extended time of searching for an employee and consequently result in many losses for the company. After all, it is not even about the loss of a good candidate, but also about the image of the entire company. It is therefore worth asking yourself whether as an organization it is worth showing itself, already at the beginning, as a place that does not respect people and their time already at the stage of recruitment itself. And again - this is confirmed by the data of the study: About 7 out of 10 applicants agree with the statement that “what recruitment, such a company inside”, which means that the way the recruitment process is carried out is for them a direct determinant of the quality of the work environment in a given organization. On the other hand, on the side of the candidates, about whom they spoke in the employer survey, also not everything is always in agreement. Some of the most frequently mentioned problems include
inconsistencies between the information declared in the CV and the actual competencies and experience of the candidates - 74% of them assess that such situations occur frequently or very often. Although the situation is certainly also influenced by the accuracy of the job offer, mass sending of CVs in practice, without the use of appropriate technology matching the candidate's CV to the offer, makes the expectations of the employer can completely pass with reality. An equally common problem is the lack of adequate preparation for the recruitment interview, which 75% of respondents pay attention to. In addition, 62% of employers experience a lack of response from candidates, such as not responding to messages or not answering calls. More than half of the respondents also declare cases of candidates not showing up for an interview without prior notice, and 36% indicate the problem of being late for recruitment meetings. As for the duration of the job search about 47% of people, who changed jobs in the past two years, found new employment in maximum 2 months, including 17% in less than a month. However, this time varied greatly depending on the age of the person. In the group 18-24 years until 21% found a job in less than a month and half in 2 months, as did people aged 25-44 years. Among the candidates after the age of 45 the share of job seekers for at least 3 months is increasing, and in the group 55+ only 45% found a new job in a period of up to 2 months. So we can ask ourselves how much social groups, whether social media in general can help in finding offers and how much the traditional way of looking for work has closed. Another differentiation is territorial; in the largest cities (more than 500 thousand inhabitants) 21% found a job in less than a month, and more than half within 2 months. In medium-sized cities, the majority also fell into this range, while in small towns and in the countryside the job search process took longer, often forcing candidates to use remote work as an alternative to the limited local supply of offers.
summary
In 2025, women slightly predominated among the unemployed, and at the regional level the highest unemployment remained in the Podkarpackie, Warmian-Masurian and Świętokrzyskie voivodships, while the lowest in Mazovia, Wielkopolska and Silesia. Recruitment processes still affect the image of the company - as many as 7 out of 10 candidates believe that “what recruitment, such a company inside”. The time to find a new job varies greatly depending on age and place of residence: younger people and those living in large cities find employment more quickly, and residents of rural and small towns are more likely to use remote work.
Sources:
Polski (PL)
English (EN)
Español (ES)
العربية (AR)
Українська (UA)