This article is a part of Poland Unpacked. Weekly intelligence for decision-makers
When choosing a profession, potential earnings are usually a key factor. But the structure of a given labor market also matters: some people prefer greater stability, while others value flexibility more.
Data on the share of each contract type relative to all contracts or business activities analyzed over a given period are available in the Data Blender (Blender Danych). As a reminder, since May 2021 employers have been required to provide a job code when filing declarations for newly hired employees, as well as when correcting data for already employed staff.
Explainer
Employment contract (UoP) vs B2B
This is one of the most important and contentious issues in the Polish labor market - the tension between “traditional” employment contracts (umowa o pracę) and self-employment/contractor arrangements (B2B, business-to-business contracts) or task contracts (umowa zlecenie). It affects huge numbers of workers, especially in IT, consulting, and professional services.
Many Polish companies, especially in IT and professional services, essentially require B2B arrangements even for roles that are really full-time employment in everything but name. You work exclusively for one company, in their office, with their equipment, following their schedule - but legally you're a “contractor.”
Or, you may chose a “task contract” which is – generally speaking – a middle ground between full employment and pure self-employment.
This is technically illegal – it’s often referred to in Polish as disguised employment or junk-contracts (umowy śmieciowe). Labor courts have ruled that if the relationship looks like employment, it should be treated as employment regardless of the contract type. But enforcement is the difficult part.
There are more than 3,000 occupations in the Classification of Occupations and Specializations (Klasyfikacja Zawodów i Specjalności, KZiS), but in the Data Blender they are aggregated into 213 occupational groups.
The methodological aspects of this data were discussed in more detail in my analysis of occupations with the highest earnings from employment contracts.
Business activity
The table below lists occupations ranked by the highest share of self-employment (business activity). Notably, the classification does not include a separate category for “entrepreneur.” Many such individuals are, however, captured within the occupational group labelled “managing directors of entities/institutions.” This helps explain the particularly high share of business activity in this category. It also includes, for example, library managers or managers of banking branches. The average salary from an employment contract shown in the table refers to these roles.
Interactive chart In the top 10 occupations by the share of self-employment, there is considerable diversity: photographers (73%), dentists (71%), as well as professionals in the beauty industry (60%). Given the low share of employment contracts, the reported salaries for employees on standard contracts are, by definition, not representative of actual earnings.
However, they do point to an interesting pattern. Among occupations dominated by self-employment, there is a wide dispersion in earning potential. The group includes well-paid professions such as software developers, air traffic services personnel, and dentists. But it also includes roles where, under an employment contract, wages are only slightly above the minimum wage. This applies, for instance, to beauty service workers, finishing construction trades, or online retail sales staff.
In other words, this is a highly heterogeneous group.
Civil law contracts (task contracts)
As regards civil law contracts (umowy zlecenia), the leading occupations are recreation and sports instructors (77%), carers of elderly or disabled persons (75%), and professional athletes (73%). The latter group barely meets the threshold applied in this analysis, namely that an occupational group must account for more than 0.5% of the total workforce (roughly 5,900 individuals).
Interactive chart Among the remaining occupations with the highest share of mandate contracts, the most numerous groups also include security personnel, passenger car drivers, and so-called “other education specialists.” This latter category comprises as many as 23 occupations under the Classification of Occupations and Specializations (KZiS). These include, for example, private tutors, personal trainers, and distance-learning teachers. Unfortunately, it is not possible to determine which of these subgroups is primarily responsible for the high share of mandate contracts within the broader category.
It is worth noting that data on average wages under employment contracts indicate relatively lower pay in this segment compared with average wages in the national economy. Only insurance agents earn above the level reported by Statistics Poland (GUS) for 2025. In the case of couriers, postal workers, and physical security staff, earnings were only slightly above the minimum wage (PLN 5,200–5,400 / EUR 1,200–1,250 per month). Around PLN 7,000 (approx. EUR 1,610) on average was earned by sports instructors, driving instructors, and drivers.
Employment contracts
In the group of 10 occupations with the highest share of standard employment contracts, education clearly dominates. It accounts for as many as four professions in this category, including nursery school teachers, early-years primary school teachers, and general secondary school teachers.
Interactive chart In addition, the list includes forestry technicians, for whom the State Forests (Lasy Państwowe) are likely the principal employer. This, however, is not a group limited to the public sector alone.
Many of the occupations are embedded in the broader industrial sector. These include miners, as well as machine operators in the production of chemical products, textiles, and paper processing.
It is worth noting that the shares of employment contracts in this category are significantly higher than in the previous contract types or self-employment. They exceed 90%. As a result, the wage data presented in the table most closely reflect actual earnings. The highest salaries are observed among forestry technicians and miners (PLN 12,400–12,900 / EUR 2,850–2,970). However, a range of other occupations in this group earn around the national average wage.