Minimum gross hourly wages and salaries in Poland 2017-2025
The minimum gross wage per hour in Poland as of July 2024 amounted to 28.1 zloty. As of January 2025, the minimum hourly wage will increase to 30.5 zloty gross, an increase of 10.1 percent.
Purchasing power standards (PPS) in the CEE region
From 2009 to 2023, almost every country in Central and Eastern Europe experienced increased GDP per capita in purchasing power standards. For example, Czechia's GDP per capita amounted to 91 PPS last year, reaching the highest level among Central and Eastern European countries but lower than the EU average. A similar situation occurred in Poland, one of the countries experiencing an increase in GDP per capita, amounting to 79 PPS. On the other hand, the highest actual individual consumption per capita expressed in purchasing power standards in the CEE region was recorder in Lithuania, Slovenia, and Romania. However, all Central and Eastern European countries reached actual individual consumption per capita below the EU average.
Inflation’s effect on Poles
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation has increased drastically. That caused people to look at their expenditure of salaries more responsibly but also made them want to earn more. From 2021 to 2023, a fair share of Poles felt that food prices and fuel increased the most over the year. In 2022, due to the rising of some products and services in recent months in Poland, 75 percent of people bought less and looked for cheaper products during daily shopping. Moreover, around 60 percent of Poles gave up higher expenses to put them off for later. Inflation causes people to look for cheaper products. However, only about 25 percent of Poles had higher trust in the promotions due to inflation.
