PIE: only 455 thousand economically inactive people declare willingness to take up work
The reserve of people available for work is many times smaller than the economically inactive statistics suggest. About half of those willing are not looking for employment because of health issues, disability or caring for loved ones.
The Polish Economic Institute (PIE) calculates in its latest “Economic Weekly” that out of around 2.6 million working-age people who are neither working nor studying, only 455 thousand declared in 2025 that they were ready to take up work. That is less than 18 percent of this group. The OECD estimated this reserve at around 460 thousand people in 2024. PIE relies on the Labour Force Survey (BAEL), which is conducted by Statistics Poland (GUS). The analysis was described by the pulsHR.pl portal (opens in a new tab).
Over the course of a decade, the number of working-age people in Poland fell by 2.4 million. According to an earlier PIE report (opens in a new tab), by 2035 the number of people in work may decrease by another 2.1 million, or 12.6 percent. There are few unemployed people: in December 2025, labour offices had 887.9 thousand people on their registers. There are around 3.7 million economically inactive working-age people, including those in education. Since June 2025, the Act on the Labour Market and Employment Services has required labour offices to reach out to them as well.
A declaration does not mean a quick return to work. About half of those willing are not looking for employment because of their health condition, disability or care responsibilities, while another 20 percent point to family circumstances or personal reasons. Among men, around 40 percent have health problems or a disability, and 27 percent have a disability certificate. More than one third of women point to care responsibilities, and around 30 percent live with a child under five years old. A break from work of at least five years is behind 36 percent of women and nearly every fourth man.
The shortage of people is already visible in recruitment. In a survey by recruitment company ManpowerGroup from October 2025, 57 percent of employers in Poland reported difficulties filling positions. In a survey by recruitment company Hays Poland from mid-2026, the share of companies expecting such difficulties rose from 47 to 52 percent.
The entire group of 455 thousand willing people corresponds to less than one fourth of the forecast decline in the number of people in work. Among the ways to reduce the gap, PIE mentions part-time work and remote work, among others, that is, forms available to people with health limitations or care responsibilities.