Society

The Wielkopolska Region is inhabited by approximately 3.5 million people. Current demographic trends, such as population migration, the aging process of society, changes in the family model and a decline in birth rate, are affecting many areas of life: the labor market, the housing market, the health care and social care system, education, and the transport system. The consequences of the progressive aging of the population may prove to be a particularly important problem in the near future. Negative demographic processes, even though slower than in other parts of the country, are shaping the future of the Wielkopolska society. Demographic changes affect the supply and demand of specific social services and the development of new branches of the silver and white economy.

Challenges faced by the Regional Government include maintaining social cohesion. Demographic changes from an intra-regional perspective - especially those caused by migration - affect local labor markets (e.g. the phenomenon of washing out human capital resources), the social structure of residents and the related structure of the local economy. Employers' use of employees from outside our country, and recently also the inflow of migrants from Ukraine, result in the need to adapt public services to foreigners and their social integration. The growing migration traffic puts pressure on the development of individual and collective transport services. With the number of children decreasing, the education sector will also require transformation. It is a challenge is to counteract deurbanization and chaotic suburbanization, they result in a decline in the population of cities in favor of the functional areas surrounding them. In this regard, it is necessary to effectively integrate development planning.

To increase the social security of the region's inhabitants, it is necessary to: improve access to public goods and services and activate people who are excluded, marginalized or at risk of the phenomena to make them participate in various spheres of socio-economic life. Eliminating the threats of poverty and its inheritance will affect the region's social cohesion and economic development.

The Condition and structure of the population of the WIELKOPOLSKA REGION

(Selected indicators)

• In the Wielkopolska Region, the population at the end of 2022 was 3,493.6 thousand people, it accounted for 9.2% nationwide.
• The population in the Wielkopolska Region was systematically increasing, contrary to the nationwide decreasing trend. However, there has been a visible decline since 2021.
• The highest population concentration is in Poznan and Poznan Poviat, 28.2% of the region's inhabitants live there. Międzychód and Chodzież poviats have the least numbers of inhabitants.
• In the population structure by place of residence in 2022, the urban population prevailed - 53.3% of the region's inhabitants. Suburbanization is a phenomenon typical of the Wielkopolska Region, as a result of it the number of inhabitants of rural areas and smaller towns located near the largest urban centers is constantly increasing.
• The feminization coefficient, determining the mutual relationship between the number of women and men, i.e. the number of women per 100 men in the Wielkopolska Region, is 106. Women's domination increases in the oldest age groups. Also, the projected average life expectancy of women in the Wielkopolska Region is also several years longer than that of men.
• In the Wielkopolska Region, similarly to the rest of the country, there are gradual changes in the population structure according to economic age groups. In 2022, the share of the population in post-working age increased slightly and amounted to 21.4%. However, the number of people of working age is decreasing, and in 2022 they constituted 59.0% of the Wielkopolska Region's inhabitants.
• The population forecast for 2014-2050 assumes a further decline and continued unfavorable demographic phenomena. The expected decrease in the population of the Wielkopolska Region in 2050, as compared to 2023, is to amount to 204,000. people, i.e. 6.2%.
• Population changes are influenced by internal (intra- and interregional) and foreign migrations. In 2022, the net migration amounted to 1,401 people, with the net internal migration reaching 1,271 people and foreign migration - 130 people.

Labour market

As compared to the rest of the country, the Wielkopolska Region has significant labor resources, accounting for 9.5% of all people working in Poland. The labor market is characterized by variability and dependence on many socio-economic factors, mainly the condition of the economy and enterprises in relation to the average salary and demographic trends. It is also inextricably linked to the level of education and directions of education of the population. Despite various fluctuations in the Wielkopolska Region, in 2023 the average employment in the enterprise sector remained at a similar level, while registered unemployment remains at the lowest level in the country.

Self-employment is very popular and appreciated in the Wielkopolska Region. Sole proprietorships and micro-enterprises are an important element of the labor market and an expression of entrepreneurship in the Wielkopolska Region. The region is characterized by many years of craft traditions and the dynamic activity of guilds and chambers in the development of crafts and the education of young adepts of the professions. Social entrepreneurship and cooperatives are also developing dynamically. Supporting innovative entrepreneurship is a priority to maintain the region's economic development.

Unemployment in our region varies territorially depending on the location of the district on the map of the Wielkopolska Region and the specificity of its internal conditions. Public Employment Services operating in the voivodeship initiate activities for professional activation, making the maximum use of funds received from the Labor Fund and other sources, including the EU funds and the National Training Fund.

The high employment rate and low unemployment rate indicate the shrinking human resources in the Wielkopolska Region. According to the 9th edition of the Occupation Barometer survey, there are 33 shortage professions in the Wielkopolska Region. Even though their number has been decreasing in recent years, there are still very disturbing deficiencies in two areas that are important for the future of the Wielkopolska Region, i.e. education, which helps educate future employees, and medicine, which is becoming crucial due to the aging of the society. Other industries important to the region's economy also face a staff shortage.

Increasing employment opportunities by adapting the education process to the expectations of employers and, at the same time, to the needs of an innovative economy, is also a challenge for the Wielkopolska Region labor market. The rapid pace of changes in the labor market, caused by, among others, progressive technological development, makes it necessary to respond flexibly to the emerging demand for new competences and qualifications. Technological progress may lead to a polarized labor market, especially in the aspect of displacement of human work by modern technologies, and at the same time to an increase in the demand for employees with new qualifications. Therefore, it is crucial to create conditions 

The labor market of the Wielkopolska Region

(Selected indicators)

Economic activity of the population in the Wielkopolska Region in the fourth quarter of 2022

• At the end of 2023, the professionally active population included 1,711 thousand people, i.e. 3.4% more than in the corresponding quarter of 2022.
• The economic activity rate was 60.8% (nationally 58.9%). It was the fourth highest value among Polish regions. The rate is much higher in the male population (71.1%) than in the female population (51.2%).
• In the fourth quarter of 2023, the number of employees was 1,642 thousand, i.e. by 1.2% more than a year earlier. The employed constituted 58.3% of the total population aged 15–89. It was the third highest value of the employment rate among Polish regions.
• The economically inactive population numbers more than 1.1 million people and constitutes 39.2% of the total population aged 15–89. The main reasons for inactivity are: retirement (49.2% of the surveyed population), learning and improving professional qualifications (21.7%), and illness and disability (12.1%).
• The unemployed most often looked for a job for up to 3 months (42.3%, in the third quarter of last year 43.8%). The average time of looking for a job by unemployed people was 8.1 months (a year ago, 9.2 months).

Average employment in the enterprise sector

• Average employment in the enterprise sector in the Wielkopolska Region in December 2023 amounted to 856.7 thousand people and decreased by 0.1%, as compared to the same period a year earlier.
• The sectors with the highest level of employment remain: industrial processing (36.4%), trade; repair of motor vehicles (34.3%) and transport and storage (10.6%).

Unemployment registered

• The registered unemployment rate at the end of December 2023 was 3.0% and it was the lowest rate among regions (5.1% in the country). The poviats with the lowest indicators are Poznań, Kępno and Wolsztyn (below 2.0%), while the highest values of this indicator concerned the poviats from the eastern and northern part of the region: Konin, Słupca and Chodzież (7.1%, 7.2%, 7.5%, respectively).
• At the end of 2023, there were 46,531 people in the registers of district labor offices. Women stand out in the structure (58.4%), and people under 30 years of age accounted for 27% of the total. In terms of education, people with basic vocational/industry education and lower secondary/primary school or lower education predominated (53% in total). Unemployed people without professional qualifications accounted for 27.5%. Despite the low unemployment rate in the region, there is still a problem of long-term unemployment (39.0%).

Foreigners on the Wielkopolska Region labor market

• In 2023, 48,870 declarations of intention to entrust work to foreigners were registered, of which 36.7% concerned Ukrainians, 31.9% Belarusians, and 21.7% Georgians. Due to the war in Ukraine and changes in the rules for employing Ukrainian citizens, the number of declarations decreased by more than 60,000, as compared to 2022.
• In 2023, employers from the Wielkopolska Region reported employing 106,185 war migrants from Ukraine.
• According to data from the Social Insurance Institution as of December 31, 2023. In the Wielkopolska Region, 123,449 foreigners were registered for insurance as employees or as persons conducting non-agricultural business activities, of which 73.1% were Ukrainian citizens.

Salaries

• In the Wielkopolska Region, the average monthly gross salary in the enterprise sector in 2023 was PLN 6,694.72. On an annual basis, it means an increase by 11.8% (a year ago, the level of remuneration increased by 12.4% on an annual basis).
• In Poland, the average monthly gross salary in the enterprise sector in the corresponding period amounted to PLN 7,444.39.