In Poland, the significant shortage of workers in several sectors will continue in 2026, primarily in transport, medicine, education, and construction. This is evidenced by the results of the study 'Professional Barometer', which analyzes the labor market situation across the country each year. As reported by inPoland.
The study is conducted on behalf of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy of Poland, and its preparation is handled by the Voivodeship Labour Office in Krakow. Analysts emphasize: high demand for specialists does not always mean high salaries, as many professions remain in shortage due to difficult working conditions or a lack of staff.
Worker Shortages in Poland 2026: Shortage Professions
According to the forecast, in 2026, employers will be especially actively looking for specialists in the following fields:
truck and semi-trailer drivers
doctors
warehouse workers
builders and installers
operators and mechanics of earthmoving machinery
welders
accountants.
A consistently high demand in the fields of care and security has been noted.
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Labor Market in Poland 2026: Education, Medicine, and Social Sphere
In the list of shortage professions, there are also those related to working with people:
nurses and midwives
caretakers for the elderly and people with disabilities
psychologists and therapists
law enforcement workers
teachers of general and vocational education
foreign language teachers, special education teachers, and integration class teachers.
At the same time, experts warn that in 2026 it will be harder to find jobs in creative, media, marketing, and humanitarian fields. In particular, this concerns designers, journalists, translators, PR specialists, and marketing, finance, and HR specialists. In these areas, automation is playing an increasingly significant role, so employees are advised to acquire additional skills.
Earlier we wrote that in the first half of 2025, Ukrainians were actively searching for jobs in Poland, particularly in the logistics and packaging sectors, which indicates a clear shortage of personnel in these sectors.