Average Polish wage tops 9,200 zł, but employment is falling. What lies ahead for workers?

Wages keep rising, but more slowly

• Average gross pay in Poland's enterprise sector reached 9,266.48 zł in September 2026, up 5.9% year on year.
• Growth was slightly below forecasts, and real wage growth is the weakest in three years.
• Employment fell 0.8% year on year, and economists expect smaller raises in 2027.

Average gross pay in Poland's enterprise sector came to 9,266.48 zł in September 2026, according to the Central Statistical Office (GUS) (Ponad 9,2 tys. zł średniej pensji, ale zatrudnienie spada. Co czeka pracowników? – se.pl) (Ponad 9 tys. zł na pasku? GUS podał najnowsze dane o zarobkach - Biznes w INTERIA.PL – interia.pl) (Sprawdź, czy łapiesz się na średnią krajową. Są najnowsze dane GUS o płacach – com.pl). That was 0.1% above August and about 4% below the record of 9,652 zł set in March. Year on year, pay rose 5.9%, slightly faster than the 5.6% recorded in August, but a little below the 6.1% analysts had forecast.

Real growth at a three-year low

Adjusted for inflation, wage growth was the weakest in three years (Tak wolno w porównaniu z inflacją płace w Polsce nie rosły od lat. Jednocześnie spada zatrudnienie – rp.pl). Over a longer horizon, pressure on pay is clearly easing, although the monthly figure picked up slightly.

Employment is declining

The weaker side of the picture is employment. Average headcount in the enterprise sector fell 0.8% year on year in September. Analysts are more worried about this than about the pay figures. Shrinking headcounts mean the rise in the average wage partly reflects the mix of workers who stayed, not a broad gain for everyone.

What economists expect for 2027

Forecasters expect wages to keep growing in 2027, though the increases are likely to be more modest than in recent years. Employers facing weaker demand and higher costs have less room for large raises, which is why the trend is described as a gradual slowdown rather than a sharp drop.

When could hiring recover?

Analysts see no clear turning point for employment yet. Any rebound will depend on how quickly companies regain confidence to hire again.