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Poland’s average gross salary rose to nearly PLN 10,000 at the beginning of this year, equivalent to more than UAH 120,000 at the August 17 exchange rate. However, most workers earn significantly less. The median salary stands at PLN 7,690, or around UAH 92,300, according to official Polish statistics cited by OBOZ.UA.
For comparison, the average salary in Ukraine is currently around UAH 30,000. Official figures for large enterprises and government institutions put the average at UAH 32,783.
Wages in Poland increasingly depend on several factors, including the sector in which a company operates, the size of the business, demand for specific professions, and employees’ qualifications.
The highest salaries in February were recorded in mining, as well as in sectors related to computer infrastructure, data processing, hosting and website management.
At the same time, experts say Poland continues to face strong demand for workers in industries focused on the domestic market, particularly HoReCa, food production, retail and logistics. These sectors also account for much of the demand for foreign workers.
The most difficult situation is currently in manufacturing. Between January and May, employment in the sector fell by 1.35%, or approximately 32,400 workers.
The furniture industry has been particularly affected. In May, employment stood at about 140,000 people, down 4.1% year on year, while the decline for the first five months of the year reached 3.4%.
The automotive industry has also continued to shed jobs. Employment in vehicle and component manufacturing fell by 3% year on year in May, to around 197,000 workers, and by 3.3% between January and May.
Meanwhile, wage growth in Poland has slowed. Experts attribute the slowdown primarily to easing inflationary pressure and tighter corporate cost controls. Consumer price growth fell from 4.9% in January–February 2025 to 2.1% during the same period this year, making the era of double-digit wage growth largely a thing of the past.
