Employers worried by Ukrainians at Polish borders

The latest report by the Central Statistical Office shows that in 2019 foreigners crossed the Polish border as much as 180.2 million times, which means an increase of 3.2 percent compared to 2018. The balance of expenses incurred by foreigners in Poland is also positive. In the aforementioned period, foreigners spent as much as PLN 45.3 billion (an increase of 4.1 percent y/y).

Germans spent over PLN 17 billion in Poland, Ukrainians over PLN 7.7 billion, and the Czechs spent PLN 4.5 billion. However, considering the average spending per person, the first place is taken by Ukrainians, who spend as much as PLN 766 per person for shopping, while Germans only PLN 437 and Czechs PLN 304.

“This shows how important a part of our economy is the staff from the East, which is responsible for as much as 11 percent of Polish GDP in the last five years. Closing the borders we are dealing with now will probably contribute to lowering this result, although of course, the scale depends on how long the epidemic will last in our country. At this time, thousands of Ukrainians cannot cross the border. This is obviously bad news for employers,” Krzysztof Inglot, President of Personnel Service, said.

(WBJ)