Poland has been hit by a wave of mass layoffs
The start of 2026 confirmed the negative trend in Poland’s labor market: companies are laying off staff, the number of job openings is declining, and unemployment is rising.
According to the National Labor and Statistics Office, in January–February, companies announced plans to lay off more than 9,000 employees—50% more than last year.
The largest cuts are occurring in industry. During this period, the sector lost about 34,000 jobs, and total employment fell to 2.37 million people.
The hardest-hit sectors were:
— the automotive industry (–3.4%)
— the furniture industry (–3.1%)
— machine building
— the manufacture of metal products (–1.2%)
The reasons cited include stagnation in production, a decline in exports, and a decrease in orders from abroad.
The unemployment rate rose to 6.1% in February, and the number of unemployed reached nearly 955,000 (+12.8% year-over-year).
At the same time, certain sectors are showing growth:
— transportation equipment manufacturing (+2.6%)
— the hotel and restaurant industry (+2.1%)
— electronics (+1.7%)
— logistics (+0.5%)
— the food industry (+0.3%)
Foreign workers play a key role in these sectors. The total number of officially employed foreigners rose to 1.29 million, with Ukrainians increasing by nearly 10%.
As a reminder, Poland will not participate in the mission in the Strait of Hormuz.
Poland has refused to transfer Patriot systems to the Middle East.
