From January to September 2025, the best employment growth figures in Poland were recorded in logistics and warehousing companies, military transport manufacturers, the food production sector, and the HoReCa industry. This is evidenced by the latest data from the Central Statistical Office of Poland (GUS).
This is reported by Finway
Growth Leaders: Logistics and Defense Industry
The logistics sector remains the leader in employment growth rates — compared to the same period in 2024, the number of employees increased by 4.7%. Although there was a temporary decline of 0.5% in July compared to June, by September, the figure rose by 5.6% year-on-year.
Manufacturers of water, air, rail, and military transport increased their workforce by 2.5% over the nine months, with this figure reaching 3.5% in September compared to the previous year. Experts note that such results were made possible by large-scale state defense investments and significant infrastructure projects.
Dynamics in the Food Industry, HoReCa, and Other Sectors
The HoReCa sector demonstrates stable growth: the year-on-year increase in employment was 1.9%. In the food industry, the number of employed remained unchanged during the third quarter of 2025 — at 399,000 people, but compared to the same period last year, there is a growth of 1.8%.
Food production accounts for nearly 17% of employment in the manufacturing sector. This allows for a moderate overall decline in employment in industry: down 0.5% in September, down 0.6% over nine months. According to analysts, this decline is slower than the average across businesses and may be due to the activation of industrial sales in September.
“The share of those employed in food production within the manufacturing sector is nearly 17%. This is why the overall decline in employment in industry appears moderate — down 0.5% in September compared to September 2024 and down 0.6% over nine months.”
At the same time, the largest reduction in staff was noted in the machinery sector. Specifically, in the production of electrical appliances, the number of employees decreased by 5.2%, in the machinery and equipment sector by 3.5%, and in the automotive industry by 1.1%. Furniture production also experienced a decline — down 0.6%.
In construction, employment decreased by 0.4% year-on-year and by 0.6% over nine months. In retail, the pace of reduction accelerated: in September compared to August — down 0.3%, year-on-year — down 0.7%. The number of employees in the sector decreased by 2,000, reaching 734,000.
Despite a year-on-year increase in retail sales of 6.4%, experts explain this as a result of the low base effect from the previous year, when sales fell by 3%. Moreover, in September 2025 compared to August, sales volume decreased by 2.7%, negatively impacting employment levels.
According to GUS, in September 2025, industrial product sales increased by 7.4% compared to September 2024. This indicates an acceleration in sales rates, as growth over nine months is 1.8%. However, employers are currently responding cautiously to these changes and are not rushing to expand their workforce.
Experts note that this may be a temporary phenomenon, as demand in both domestic and foreign markets is recovering more slowly than expected, which affects companies’ investment activity and labor market dynamics.