ZPP Newsletter
Warsaw, 22 September 2022
Commentary of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers (ZPP) on the economic activity of Ukrainians in Poland – 2022, an absolutely record year
Certainly, the beginning of the year was not successful for Polish entrepreneurs. In February, almost 5,000 fewer new businesses got registered than a month earlier. However, in March, Ukrainians arrived “to help” and they felt so confident in Poland that they greatly contributed to exceeding the January’s threshold. By 2021, in Poland, there were 7,117 registered businesses managed by Ukrainian citizens. In 2022 alone, and only until September, Ukrainian citizens submitted 9,374 applications to set up a business.
Total applications to establish a business in Poland
Monthly data for 2022
January 26,567
February 21,792
March 26,962
April 25,806
May 27,369
June 27,250
July 25,539
Source: CEIDG, InfoCredit
Based on the data collected by the InfoCredit analytical company, a large percentage of Ukrainians associate not only their family future but also their business activity with in Poland. Proximity to the home left behind certainly makes a difference in settling in, and professional fulfilment is reflected not only in full-time work but also in newly established businesses. The removal of employment barriers is definitely motivating for Ukrainians, as currently no work permits are required. There is only a procedure in place to notify the district employment office that a given person got employed. By August, almost 390 thousand persons from Ukraine got employed under the simplified procedure. By the middle of the summer holidays, over 770 thousand Ukrainians were legally employed in our country.
As the Border Guard indicated on Twitter on Sunday, women and children constituted the vast majority of the 6.36 million people who have crossed our southern-eastern border.
That structure of Ukrainians settling down in Poland corresponds to the type of businesses most frequently opened, which are hairdressing and beauty therapy. But not only. This year, also IT specialists found employment in Poland. Compared to previous years, a large amount of activity was also noticed in construction and transport.
Large cities are the main target
This year, the largest number of businesses was established by the citizens of Ukraine in Mazowsze (2,262), as well as in Dolnośląskie (1,473) and Małopolskie (1,285) voivodeships. Pomorskie Voivodeship was on 4th position, and Wielkopolskie Voivodeship on 5th (1,040 and 701 respectively). In the voivodeships located in eastern Poland, the number of businesses established by our visitors was smaller. It was 209 businesses in Podkarpackie Voivodeship, 253 in Lubelskie Voivodeship and only 59 in Podlaskie Voivodeship, less than in Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship (61).
It seems that our visitors set up the most businesses in places where there is the best opportunity to gain new customers. Not surprisingly, their most popular destiny was Warsaw and the largest cities. The distance from the border was irrelevant here. What mattered was an attractive market, a chance to make a good living and find accommodation to stay.
The main destination, taking business and income opportunities, was Warsaw. This year, in the capital, the visitors established 1,764 new businesses. Kraków came second (1,042 new businesses), slightly ahead of Wrocław (1,040). In Gdańsk and Poznań, 434 and 417 new businesses were established, respectively. Szczecin was much ahead of Łódź (314 and 237, respectively). Out of the above-mentioned cities, the biggest jump in the number of new businesses was recorded in Wrocław (from 635 before 2022 to 1,040 this year), in Kraków (from 697 to 1,042) and in Gdańsk (from 200 to 434) – adds Jerzy Wonka, the President of the Management Board of InfoCredit.
Economic activity, despite increasing burdens and constant changes in tax regulations, is still the simplest form of business. With a PESEL (Polish Resident Identification Number) assigned, with the help of volunteers and the support of officials, it can be established almost immediately. The cooperation of Polish and Ukrainian business in the process of the reconstruction of the neighbour country is still a topic of the future. Today, our visitors are trying to make their way in our country, also in business, as they want to be independent.
