On Tuesday 20 October, Statistics Poland (GUS, the national statistics office) published wage and employment data for September. At first glance they look good: the average salary in companies exceeded PLN 9,200 gross. But once you subtract inflation, it turns out that the purchasing power of Polish pay is growing at its slowest pace in more than three years.

What GUS reported

According to GUS data for the enterprise sector in September 2026:

• Average gross wage: PLN 9,266.48,
• year-on-year growth: 5.9% (5.6% in August),
• growth versus August: just 0.1%,
• employment: 6.36 million full-time jobs, 0.8% fewer than a year earlier.

Economists surveyed by the PAP Biznes news agency expected wages to grow by 6.1%, so the result was slightly weaker than forecast. A year ago, in September 2025, the average was PLN 8,750.34. Over the year, pay rose by about PLN 516 gross.

Why "in real terms" means only 1.7%

A raise on its own does not tell you whether life is getting better. What matters is how much it can buy. And in September inflation in Poland accelerated to 4.1% (from 3.4% in August). Subtract the rise in prices from the rise in pay and you get real wage growth of about 1.7%. That is the weakest result since August 2023.

Andrzej Gwiżdż of the Port think tank, quoted by Money.pl, points out that real wages slowed even though nominal pay grew slightly faster. In his view it is "the lowest result in over three years, linked to the acceleration of inflation".

Put simply: raises are still ahead of prices, but the lead is shrinking fast.

Jobs are disappearing

The second, less visible piece of news concerns employment. In the enterprise sector it fell by 7,400 full-time jobs in September compared with August, and by almost 50,000 since the start of the year, according to Bankier.pl. It is yet another month of decline.

Analysts at Pekao bank believe that "weak demand for labour gives no grounds to expect a clear acceleration in wage growth". They expect pay to keep growing at around 6% a year in the coming months. Economists at mBank write that wage growth has "approached an equilibrium level", and that higher energy prices are not yet translating into higher salaries.

For employees this means fewer job offers, less bargaining power in negotiations, and raises that are modest rather than spectacular.

The average is not your salary

It is worth remembering what these figures do not show. Here GUS only counts companies with more than 9 employees. The statistic leaves out public administration, schools, hospitals, micro-firms, the financial sector and farmers – fewer than 40% of working people. It also excludes people on civil-law contracts and the self-employed.

In addition, high salaries push the average up. According to GUS, the median wage in April 2026 – the amount below which half of employees earn – was PLN 7,695 gross. With the average at around PLN 9,300–9,500, most people in Poland earn less than the "national average".

The differences between industries are large. The best-paid sectors are information and communication (PLN 15,347), professional and scientific activities (PLN 12,629) and energy (PLN 12,404). Regions differ too: from PLN 10,577 in Mazowieckie (the Warsaw region) to PLN 7,776 in Warmińsko-Mazurskie in the north-east.

A worked example

Suppose a year ago you took home PLN 6,000 a month and your pay rose exactly in line with the average, i.e. by 5.9%. For simplicity, assume your net pay grows at the same rate as gross pay.

• Your pay today: 6,000 × 1.059 = PLN 6,354, i.e. PLN 354 more.
• What the things that cost PLN 6,000 a year ago cost today: 6,000 × 1.041 = PLN 6,246.
• Your real gain: 6,354 − 6,246 = PLN 108 a month.

Out of a PLN 354 raise, the "real" gain is only about PLN 108. Higher prices ate the rest.

And if you got no raise at all? Then with the same PLN 6,000 you can buy about PLN 246 less than a year ago. Over a year that is almost PLN 3,000 of purchasing power.

Keep in mind that your personal inflation rate may differ from 4.1%. If you spend a lot on energy bills or food, and these happen to rise faster, your real result may be worse.

What you can do

• Check whether your pay keeps up with prices. Compare your pay slip with the one from a year ago. If it grew by less than 4%, you are earning less in real terms.
• Ask for a raise with data in hand. The job market is cooler, so it is better to rely on specifics: your results, new responsibilities and inflation. It is also worth checking pay levels in your industry and region.
• Don't quit hastily. With employment falling, it is better to have a new job lined up before you hand in your notice.
• Build a financial cushion. A good target is 3–6 months of expenses. It gives you peace of mind if your company starts cutting jobs.
• Protect your savings from inflation. Money in an account that pays no interest loses value in real terms. Consider a savings account, a term deposit or inflation-linked government savings bonds. Our guide to bonds explains more.
• See where your money goes. If your pay grows more slowly than your costs, reviewing your spending helps fastest. In Money Trackrr you can log expenses in seconds, and after a month you can see which categories are getting more expensive in your household.

What next

Economists do not expect wages to speed up soon. Andrzej Gwiżdż of Port expects the National Bank of Poland's (NBP) reference rate to stay at 3.75% until the end of the year. He names high oil prices and a possible weakening of the zloty as risks. GUS will publish October wage data in about a month. From January, Poland's minimum wage will also rise – to PLN 4,950 gross, an increase of only 3%.

In short

• Average pay in Polish companies in September: PLN 9,266.48 gross, 5.9% more than a year ago.
• After subtracting inflation (4.1%), real wages are growing by only about 1.7% – the slowest in over three years.
• Companies have cut almost 50,000 full-time jobs since January, so big raises are unlikely.
• With PLN 6,000 net pay and an average raise, your real gain is about PLN 108 a month. Without a raise, you lose about PLN 246 of purchasing power.

Information material, not financial or investment advice. GUS data for September 2026 published on 20 October 2026; as of 21 October 2026.

Sources: Bankier.pl – real wages growing at slowest pace in years, almost 50,000 jobs lost, Money.pl – economists' comments on wage data, Strefa Inwestorów – GUS data and PAP Biznes consensus, Finwire – wages by region, Radio Pin – pay growing more slowly, jobs disappearing. Photo: Jakub Żerdzicki / Unsplash.