Analysis

Polish Enterprise Salaries Climb Steeply

Money of National Bank of Poland. Polish zloty banknote on red velvet background; Macro photo; Depth of field

Salaries in Poland are on the rise. In December 2017 the average gross salary was 4973.73 zloty, an increase of approximately 350 zloty – over 7 per cent – on December 2016.

The data pertaining to wages is taken from the Central Statistics Office (GUS), which includes all enterprises in Poland employing nine or more people – around five per cent of companies representing 60 per cent of the total Polish labour force.

The steep growth can be explained by enterprises having to pay more to employees because of falling unemployment, which has led to a shortage of qualified workers on the labour market. According to the results of a survey carried out by the Polish Work Service, more than half of all employers in Poland are suffering from lack of appropriate staff. These shortages threaten the expansion and development of many companies, resulting in companies being forced to increase wages.

According to the GUS, “the average gross salary increased by 7.9 percent on average per month and amounted to 4973.73 zloty by the end of 2017, while employment in the enterprise sector increased 4.5 per cent compared to 2016.”

Further details on the reasoning for the increase should be revealed when the GUS publishes its Statistical Bulletin. It can be assumed however that some of the factors attributing to such growth are mining bonuses, and mobile components of remuneration in manufacturing and construction.