Average gross monthly pay in Poland’s enterprise sector reached PLN 9,353.76 in the second quarter of 2026. That was 5.4% higher than a year earlier. At the same time, average employment fell to 6.379 million people, around 78,000 fewer than in Q2 2025. The figures reveal an increasingly clear divergence in Poland’s labour market: wages are still rising, but employment at larger companies is declining.
Wages also remain on an upward trend in the latest monthly data. In July 2026, average gross pay in the enterprise sector reached PLN 9,482.25. A year earlier it stood at PLN 8,891.19, representing an increase of approximately 6.6%.
Key figures
- average gross pay in the national economy in Q2 2026: PLN 9,371.49
- average gross pay in the enterprise sector in Q2 2026: PLN 9,353.76
- annual wage growth in the enterprise sector: +5.4%
- average employment in the enterprise sector: 6.379 million
- annual change in employment: -78,000
- average enterprise-sector wage in July 2026: PLN 9,482.25
Average pay in the enterprise sector exceeds PLN 9,350
Average gross monthly pay in Poland’s enterprise sector amounted to PLN 9,353.76 in the second quarter of 2026.
A year earlier, the average stood at PLN 8,877.61.
That represents an increase of around PLN 476 gross over twelve months, or 5.4%. Compared with the first quarter of 2026, average pay increased by approximately 1.0%.
| Period | Average gross monthly pay |
|---|---|
| Q2 2023 | PLN 7,365.22 |
| Q2 2024 | PLN 8,169.28 |
| Q2 2025 | PLN 8,877.61 |
| Q2 2026 | PLN 9,353.76 |
Source: Statistics Poland.
Wages have increased by almost 27% in three years
A comparison with the second quarter of 2023 illustrates the scale of wage growth in recent years.
At that time, average gross pay in the enterprise sector stood at PLN 7,365.22.
Over three years, the figure has therefore increased by almost PLN 2,000, or roughly 27%.
However, the pace of wage growth has slowed noticeably compared with the period of very high inflation, when companies were under much stronger pressure to increase salaries.
Wages are rising while employment is falling
The longer-term picture shows two opposite trends.
| Period | Average gross pay | Average employment |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2023 | PLN 7,365 | 6.537 million |
| Q2 2024 | PLN 8,169 | 6.503 million |
| Q2 2025 | PLN 8,878 | 6.457 million |
| Q2 2026 | PLN 9,354 | 6.379 million |
While average wages have increased significantly, the number of people employed in the enterprise sector has steadily declined.
Employment falls by 78,000 in one year
Higher wages have not been accompanied by higher employment.
Average employment in the enterprise sector stood at 6.379 million people in the second quarter of 2026.
A year earlier, the figure was 6.457 million. This means employment fell by around 78,000 people, or 1.2%.
The decline is also visible on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
During the first three months of 2026, average employment stood at 6.403 million, meaning the number declined by another approximately 24,000 in the second quarter.
| Period | Employment in enterprise sector |
|---|---|
| Q2 2023 | 6.537 million |
| Q2 2024 | 6.503 million |
| Q2 2025 | 6.457 million |
| Q2 2026 | 6.379 million |
Around 158,000 jobs have disappeared from the enterprise-sector statistics since 2023
The trend becomes even clearer over a longer period.
In the second quarter of 2023, average employment in the enterprise sector stood at 6.537 million people.
Three years later, the figure was approximately 158,000 lower, equivalent to a decline of about 2.4%.
Over the same period, average wages increased by roughly 27%.
This does not automatically mean that unemployment has risen by a similar amount. The statistics cover average employment in the enterprise sector rather than everyone working in Poland.
They do, however, indicate that larger companies have become more cautious about expanding headcount even as wages continue to rise.
Average pay across the whole economy is now slightly higher than in the enterprise sector
A comparison between the enterprise sector and the broader national economy also produces an interesting result.
In the second quarter of 2026, average gross monthly pay across Poland’s national economy amounted to PLN 9,371.49.
That was slightly higher than the PLN 9,353.76 recorded in the enterprise sector.
The difference is small — less than PLN 18 — but it shows how closely the two measures have converged.
| Average pay in Q2 2026 | Gross monthly amount |
|---|---|
| National economy | PLN 9,371.49 |
| Enterprise sector | PLN 9,353.76 |
Average pay approaches PLN 9,500 in July
More recent monthly data show that wages continued to rise at the beginning of the third quarter.
In July 2026, average gross monthly pay in the enterprise sector reached PLN 9,482.25.
In June, the figure stood at PLN 9,405.88, meaning average wages increased by around 0.8% in a single month.
A year earlier, in July 2025, the average enterprise-sector salary was PLN 8,891.19.
Annual wage growth in July therefore amounted to approximately 6.6%.
Nominal wage growth remains relatively strong despite the broader moderation seen compared with previous years.
Average enterprise-sector wage in 2026
| Month | Average gross pay |
|---|---|
| January | PLN 9,179 |
| February | PLN 9,207 |
| March | PLN 9,263 |
| April | PLN 9,299 |
| May | PLN 9,365 |
| June | PLN 9,406 |
| July | PLN 9,482 |
Companies can cut headcount without reducing wages
Rising salaries and falling employment are not contradictory trends.
Companies can reduce recruitment, leave some vacancies unfilled when employees leave, or increase productivity through automation, digitalisation and new technologies.
At the same time, wages for existing employees may continue to rise because of shortages of skilled workers, salary pressure and competition for staff in selected professions.
The Polish labour market may therefore be moving from a period of rapid employment growth into a phase in which companies focus more heavily on productivity, staffing efficiency and labour costs.
Poland’s labour market remains strong, but increasingly uneven
The wage data remain favourable from an employee perspective.
Nominal salaries continue to rise, and with inflation much lower than during the recent inflation shock, this also translates into stronger purchasing power.
Employment figures, however, are becoming less favourable.
The number of people employed in the enterprise sector has been falling for several quarters, and by the second quarter of 2026 the annual decline had reached approximately 78,000.
This does not necessarily point to a sharp deterioration across the entire labour market, but it does suggest that companies are pursuing a more cautious recruitment policy than they were several years ago.
In the coming months, the pace of wage growth will therefore be only one part of the picture. Changes in employment, vacancies and companies’ demand for new workers will be equally important indicators of the health of Poland’s labour market.
Source: Statistics Poland. Own calculations based on Statistics Poland data on average wages and employment.
