Poland stands at an important turning point. Over the past two decades, the country has achieved remarkable economic growth, with GDP per capita doubling since 2005. Yet, as the population ages and the working-age population is projected to decline by five million before 2050, future prosperity will depend increasingly on Poland’s ability to draw on all available talent. Today, around five million people of working age remain economically inactive and outside the labour market, many with the skills, experience, or potential to contribute if given the right support. The 2025 Act on the Labour Market and Employment Services recognises this challenge and places the activation of economically inactive individuals at the heart of national labour market policy.
Tackling economic inactivity in Poland requires coordinated action across the country’s multi-level Public Employment Services (PES) system. The central, regional, and local levels each have distinct roles, with 340 Powiat Labour Offices (PUP) on the frontline of outreach and support. Economic inactivity rates among the working-age population vary widely across Powiats, even when students are excluded, ranging from 7% in the city of Wroclaw to 21% in Powiat Wodzislawski, a district with deep historical roots in Silesia’s industrial and mining sector. Differences in economic inactivity thus reflect variations in industrial structure and local labour market conditions that shape the size and composition of the inactive population. Such diversity means that every PUP will need the resources, skills, and tools to identify and address the specific barriers faced by their local inactive population in order to deliver effective support.
To realise the full potential of its economically inactive population, Poland will need to build strong local partnerships to engage inactive individuals through community outreach, develop the legal and technical infrastructure necessary for effective data exchange between the PES and other institutions, and expand the range of PES services to address complex employment barriers. These efforts require collaboration between all levels of governance to allow for local adaptation guided by regional strategies and framed within clear national priorities, alongside targeted investment in PES capacity and deeper engagement with employers to create inclusive job opportunities.
This report was developed by the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE), as part of the Programme of Work and Budget of the OECD Local Employment and Economic Development (LEED) Programme with the support of the European Union.