According to the Polish Economic Institute, from January 2022 to June 2024, approximately 59,800 active Ukrainian individual businesses (JDG or sole proprietorships) were established in Poland. The IT and telecommunications sector ranks second in terms of the number of new businesses opened in 2024.
In the first half of 2024, Ukrainian nationals accounted for one in ten new businesses in Poland (11.2%), with 77% of recently registered foreign businesses managed by Ukrainians, reports Polska Agencja Prasowa.
Ukrainian individual enterprises established in the first half of this year predominantly operate in the following sectors:
- Construction (23%)
- IT and telecommunications (19%)
- Other service-related activities (12%)
Among Ukrainian men, IT businesses make up 23%, ranking second after construction (34%). For Ukrainian women, information and communication activities, as well as trade, each represent 11% of newly founded companies. Ukrainian women are involved in information and communication activities four times more than Ukrainian men (2,274 vs. 603).
The Polish Economic Institute highlights that owning a business in Poland is an alternative to paid employment for many Ukrainians. As of the end of June 2024, around 771,000 Ukrainian citizens were insured, with nearly 739,000 working as employees or under contracts, according to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS).
"In comparison, in June 2023, approximately 748,000 Ukrainians were insured, marking a 3% increase from the previous year," ZUS added.
The Polish Economic Institute also notes that the 2023 report from the State Labor Inspectorate reveals that 16% of inspected Ukrainian citizens were employed illegally, up from 11% in 2022.
"This phenomenon is particularly notable in the context of the simplified employment procedure for Ukrainians introduced in 2022, which allows for legal employment based on a work assignment notice. Despite this simplification, the number of illegally employed Ukrainians has increased," the weekly report from the Polish Economic Institute states.
