The newspaper said that while registered unemployment rose by 0.6 percent in 2025, about 96,000 foreigners entered the Polish labour market.
Most foreign workers come from Ukraine, but an increasing number are arriving from more distant countries, officials said.
Foreign employment has grown steadily in transport, logistics and the food service, sectors where migrants typically fill low-wage positions, according to Rzeczpospolita.
In contrast, foreign specialists account for about 20 percent of the workforce in Poland’s business services sector, the paper reported.
Poland’s Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy has identified 329 occupations facing worker shortages. Foreigners applying for those jobs will benefit from fast-tracked legalisation procedures and simplified hiring rules, Rzeczpospolita said.
The list includes medical professions, a move that could shorten waiting times for doctors’ appointments, according the ministry.
Many parts of the Polish economy would struggle to function without foreign labour, said Krzysztof Inglot of the HR firm Personnel Service, as quoted by the newspaper.
He added that sectors such as meat and fish processing face labour shortages among both Poles and Ukrainians, prompting employers to recruit workers from Asia and Latin America.
According to Poland’s Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), Ukrainians remain the largest group of foreign workers in the country, followed by Belarusians, Georgians, Indians and Colombians.
The number of Nepali workers in Poland jumped by 37 percent in 2025, Rzeczpospolita reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, Rzeczpospolita