– With the assessment of the contribution of Ukrainian workers to Polish GDP and long-term effects, we must wait.
And we see that erstwhile it comes to short-wave effects, Ukrainians work in competitions that are not popular among Poles. Poles want to grow more, want to occupy higher positions and at the same time make more money. So the space for these workers earning the minimum national wage was filled – says Newseria Rafał Komaewicz, associate of the Polish Parliament from Poland 2050, president of the Parliamentary Committee on Economy and Development.
Refugees from Ukraine generated 2.7% of Poland's GDP in 2024
– As Poland, the Sejm and the government, we must look at the needs of Polish employers. Let us remember that there are professions in which Poles do not want to work for various reasons, due to the fact that they are low-development, at the same time low-paid, here we request outside workers.
Refugees from Ukraine generated 2.7% of Poland's GDP in 2024 – according to Deloitte's analysis prepared for UNHCR. It indicates that 69% of the adult citizens of our east neighbour work or actively search work in Poland. Companies are increasingly reporting request for abroad workers, which will proceed to increase due to demographic change and at the same time see expanding competition from another EU countries, specified as Germany. This forces them to compete more powerfully for Ukrainian workers.
The impact of Ukrainian migrants on the Polish economy is positive
The study "Analysis of the impact of refugees from Ukraine on the economy of Poland", carried out by Deloitte on behalf of the UN exile Agency (UNHCR), indicates that 7 out of 10 Ukrainian citizens who fled to Poland after the war started. The employment rate is thus not much lower than among Polish citizens (75%).
– The impact of Ukrainian migrants on the Polish economy is affirmative because, by dropping contributions and paying taxes, they support the improvement of Polish companies, the Polish economy. It is estimated that only Ukrainian war refugees accounted for almost 3% of Polish GDP in 2024,” says Nadia Winiarska, expert on employment from the Leviathan Confederation.
For all PLN 1 obtained by migrants from Ukraine in the form of a 800+ benefit, there are about PLN 5.4 taxes and contributions.
Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) in the survey entitled "The impact of the influx of migrants from Ukraine on the Polish economy" states that taxation and contribution revenues of working citizens Ukraine reached over PLN 15 billion in 2024. For all PLN 1 obtained by migrants from Ukraine in the form of a 800+ benefit, there are about PLN 5.4 taxes and contributions. BGK study indicates that Poland will request far more migrants in the coming years than the current number of citizens through changes in demography Ukraine located on the Vistula River. However, the survey of the global Organisation for Migration shows that in 2023 around 43 percent of Ukrainian refugees had a plan to stay in Poland permanently. According to the NBP analysis cited by BGK, only all 5 refugees and all 2 migrants arrived before February 2022 declare their intention to stay longer.
Therefore, experts from the bank point out that in order to maximise the affirmative impact of migration from Ukraine on the Polish economy, migrants should be encouraged to stay in Poland. It is crucial in this context that migrants are given satisfactory work to keep adequate housing conditions and access to public education and various language and vocational training.
There are less Ukrainian workers in Poland than in Germany
– As far as the Ukrainians go to another EU countries, I think there is simply a different situation than a fewer years ago, it is no longer that everyone is happy to accept workers from Ukraine. Besides, there are cultural differences, remember that not only the issue of finance is important. So I would be calm about the fact that these Ukrainian workers will want to stay in Poland – says Rafał Komarewicz. – The fact that we are losing employees from Ukraine to companies from Germany and Benelux is not even a risk, that is simply a fact. We have first time specified data, where in Poland there are less workers from Ukraine than in Germany. Poland has always dominated in this area, we were the country number 1 for migration for citizens from Ukraine, and now it is visible that this is changing,” emphasised Andrzej Korkus, president of the EWL Group.
According to Eurostat data, at the end of September 2025 in Germany 1.21 million people from Ukraine were covered by the rules on temporary protection (28.3 percent of the Ukrainian population benefiting from this position in the EU). For comparison, in Poland it was just over 1 million (23.5 percent). "In sectors specified as transport, workers are frequently wanted, who are already in the EU in another countries and are trying to bring them to Poland. Indeed, Polish employers must compete for workers with employers from another EU countries. The hazard of these people leaving, better incentives and a better legal environment in another EU countries can be a challenge for employers – says Nadia Winiarska.
More: https://business.newseria.pl/news/polska-lost-race-o,p1845361319
https://1.newseria.pl/video/1845361319_ukrainscy_employees_sz.mp4
