Expenses of Ukrainians in Poland lowest in 3 years

The latest report of the Central Statistical Office (GUS) shows that in the first quarter of 2020 foreigners crossed the Polish border 34.6 million times, which means a decrease of 11.7 percent compared to the first quarter of 2019. This factor was mainly influenced by the spreading coronavirus epidemic and temporary closure of borders, but it is worth remembering that in Poland the most severe restrictions with border traffic did not appear until March and April. Therefore, Personnel Service experts predict that the downward trend will be even more pronounced in the second quarter.

As for expenses of foreigners in Poland, here also worse results than in the previous year were recorded. The estimated value of goods and services purchased by foreigners in the first quarter of 2020 amounted to PLN 8.8 billion, which means a decrease by 10.6 percent. In the first quarter of 2020, Ukrainians left PLN 1.48 billion in Poland, which means a decrease of almost 7 percent y/y. This can mean real losses for the Polish economy.

“The staff from the East have been responsible for as much as 11 percent of Polish economic growth in the past five years, and almost PLN 8 billion allocated for consumption in one year is a big injection of cash for our entrepreneurs. The drop in expenses of Ukrainians in Poland will definitely be felt, not only from the point of view of selling products and services, but mainly access to employees. Temporary closure of borders for staff from the East was hardest felt by employers, mainly large production plants, which could not count on employees from Ukraine,” Krzysztof Inglot, President of Personnel Service, said.

(WBJ)