The beginning of 2026 brought a clear cooling on the Kraków labour market. March data confirm a continuing downward trend in employment and a noticeable rise in unemployment, although wage growth remains positive. Kraków, although still performing extremely well compared with the rest of Poland, is slowly ceasing to be an enclave fully resistant to the slowing economy.
Employment in the enterprise sector is falling
In March 2026, average employment in Kraków’s enterprise sector stood at 244,800 full-time equivalent jobs. This was 1,000 fewer than in February, a decrease of 0.4%, and 3,600 fewer than in the same period a year earlier, representing a year-on-year decline of 1.4%.
This is an important warning signal, because the enterprise sector includes companies employing more than nine people, and therefore represents a substantial part of the organised labour market. The recorded decline does not necessarily signal a sudden crisis, but it clearly shows that after a period of rising business costs, some employers are taking a much more cautious approach to staffing policy or deciding to reduce headcount.
On a monthly basis, the largest decline in employment was recorded in construction, where the number of jobs fell by 2.7%. Reductions also affected activities related to culture, entertainment and recreation, information and communication, transport and storage, accommodation and catering, trade, and industry. By contrast, employment growth was observed in professional, scientific and technical activities, as well as in administration and support services.
On an annual basis, compared with March 2025, employment declined particularly sharply in professional, scientific and technical activities, falling by as much as 15.0%. Job cuts also occurred in transport and storage, information and communication, and trade. This is a highly significant development, as for years Kraków was the undisputed leader in the rapid expansion of business services, IT, competence centres and the professional services sector. Current data suggest that some of these key industries for the city are going through a deep correction phase.
Unemployment is rising, although it remains low
At the end of March 2026, 14,446 unemployed people were registered with labour offices in Kraków. This was 210 more than in the previous month and as many as 2,782 more than a year earlier. The annual increase of 23.9% shows that the number of people without work is rising faster than can be explained by seasonality alone.
Despite these worrying increases, the registered unemployment rate in the capital of Małopolska remains at a safe, low level. In March, it stood at 2.7%, exactly the same as in February, but 0.5 percentage points higher than a year earlier, when it was 2.2%. For broader context, the rate for the whole of Małopolskie Voivodeship was 5.1%, while nationally it stood at 6.1%. Kraków therefore continues to compare very favourably with the region and the country as a whole, although the direction of change is clearly less optimistic than in 2025.
Among registered unemployed people, there were 6,828 women, accounting for 47.3% of the total. The number of unemployed women increased both month on month, compared with February, and year on year. Over the past 12 months, their number rose by 1,180, an increase of 20.9%.
Fewer vacancies and weaker demand for workers
In March 2026, a total of 955 job offers were submitted to Kraków labour offices. Although this was a better result than in January or February this year, it looks very weak compared with many months in 2025. In March 2025, as many as 2,182 such offers were submitted. This means a sharp weakening of formal demand for workers reported by companies to public institutions.
At the end of March, there were nine registered unemployed people per available job offer in Kraków. Compared with February, when there were 10 people per vacancy, the situation improved slightly, but the indicators from the beginning of 2026 remain noticeably higher than those recorded during most of 2025. For example, in January 2026, 13 people competed for one position, whereas in 2025 this ratio usually ranged from five to eight candidates.
These data clearly show that the Kraków labour market has lost some of its capacity to absorb workers. Although employees remain in a relatively comfortable position compared with those in other Polish cities, the golden era of effortless and rapid job hunting in selected industries has most likely come to an end.
Wages remain on an upward path
Despite the decline in employment, wage statistics show that strong pay pressure on the market has by no means disappeared. Average monthly gross pay in Kraków’s enterprise sector reached an impressive PLN 13,442.46 in March 2026. This represents an increase of 15.5% compared with February and 5.8% year on year.
Such a large month-on-month jump is usually the result of annual bonuses, awards, periodic allowances or other seasonal shifts in companies’ remuneration structures. From the point of view of assessing long-term trends, the annual increase of 5.8% is much more important. It confirms that, despite the shrinking number of jobs, average salaries continue to rise.
Year on year, wages increased in most of the sectors analysed. The largest pay rises were recorded in real estate activities, transport and storage, culture, entertainment and recreation, administration and support services, and accommodation and catering. By contrast, the decline in average pay in professional, scientific and technical activities is surprising, as wages in this sector fell by 3.1% compared with the previous year.
This exception becomes particularly interesting when compared with the previously mentioned sharp decline in employment in the same section, which amounted to 15%. It may signal a deep change in employment structure, cuts in the highest-paid positions, growing cost pressure on companies or fundamental shifts in the work models previously used in the professional services sector.
Kraków remains a wage leader among major agglomerations
Compared with Poland’s largest metropolitan areas, Kraków firmly maintains its position as one of the markets with the highest average wages. The March figure of PLN 13,442.46 gross even exceeded Warsaw, where the average wage stood at PLN 12,410.85. Kraków also outperformed Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Katowice in this respect.
However, these data should be approached with some caution. Average pay does not provide a complete and objective picture of the finances of all residents. This impressive average is largely boosted by very high earnings in Kraków’s powerful IT sector, business services, finance, advanced industry and senior management positions. In reality, the salaries of many regular employees are significantly lower than the statistical average.
