Foreign capital in Poland is growing, and 58 percent of companies fear a shortage of staff
Poland is attracting more and more foreign projects, but investors are also asking who will work on them. Labor market data shows, however, that this is more of a risk for the years ahead than a massive labor shortage today.
The value of foreign investment in Poland exceeded PLN 1.5 trillion at the end of 2025. At the same time, 58 percent of companies surveyed by the Polish-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK Polska) point to demographics and a shortage of qualified workers as a potential barrier to growth in the longer term. This percentage comes from AHK's business outlook survey for 2026, discussed by "My Company Polska".
In 2025, the inflow of foreign capital amounted to PLN 65.5 billion, and the number of new investment projects increased by 10 percent, to 285. Across Europe, the number of such ventures fell by 7 percent during the same period. The Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) finalized 64 projects with a declared value of more than EUR 4 billion, which are expected to create more than 6,600 jobs. Of those surveyed by AHK, 94.5 percent declared that they would choose Poland again as an investment location.
The problem mainly concerns matching competencies. The qualifications of Polish workers are rated positively by 65.2 percent of AHK respondents, but investments in energy, electromobility, pharmaceuticals, advanced technologies, and the food industry are increasing demand for narrowly specialized experts. Tomasz Salomon from the Ministry of Development and Technology, quoted by AHK, points out that reform of vocational education remains a challenge, and it must keep pace with market needs.
Recruitment is therefore increasingly about not so much filling positions as acquiring specific competencies.
Demographics are working against companies. According to Statistics Poland (GUS), the number of people of working age fell in the first half of 2026 by about 31,000, to 21.7 million. Other studies show, however, that the current shortage is localized. In Personnel Service's Polish Labor Market Barometer, 8 percent of companies indicated a lack of workers as the main challenge for 2026, while 26 percent pointed to labor costs. In transport, however, the share indicating a lack of people reaches 30 percent, and in gastronomy and hospitality 29 percent. According to the Ministry of Labour's Occupations Barometer 2026, the number of shortage occupations fell to 17, the lowest level in 12 years.
For companies planning growth, this means that specific competencies are harder to find than workers in general, and recruiting specialists must be taken into account already at the stage of planning an investment or a new team.