Poland & Ukraine Talent Market — Mid-2025 Snapshot

The labour markets of Poland and Ukraine continue to evolve throughout 2025, shaped by shifting macroeconomic environments, organisational restructuring, and a growing need for specialised white-collar talent. While hiring remains active in both countries, the underlying drivers are fundamentally different: Poland experiences strong competition and rising expectations from candidates, while Ukraine faces sustained demand but structurally limited supply due to wartime constraints.

This report summarises the key dynamics employers must understand today — and outlines practical implications for companies hiring in Finance, Legal, Marketing, Operations, and Technology.

Executive Summary

Poland remains a competitive, candidate-driven market with rising salary benchmarks and high expectations.
AI, Data, Infrastructure, Compliance, and Growth Marketing are among the fastest-growing hiring categories.
Ukraine shows strong hiring demand but structural shortages in mid-senior talent, especially bilingual profiles.
Mobility limitations continue to define the Ukrainian talent landscape in 2025.
Across both markets, employers who communicate role clarity, purpose, and culture outperform salary-first competitors.

Below is a detailed breakdown of both markets:

🇵🇱 Poland — Competitive, Fragmented, and Rapidly Evolving

Poland’s professional labour market remains mature and highly competitive. Candidates — especially in IT, Data, Legal, and Marketing — typically evaluate multiple offers in parallel and expect transparent compensation, hybrid work structures, and strong leadership alignment.

IT salary benchmark: PLN 22,769 (↑12% YoY), with senior architects well above this range.
AI/Data/DevOps roles expand faster than general tech hiring.
High demand in Compliance, ESG-aligned Legal, Digital Marketing, and Growth roles.
Companies compete increasingly on culture, flexibility, and team quality—not only pay.

The employers who succeed in Poland tend to move quickly, articulate a compelling mission, and provide clear expectations around impact and decision-making authority.

🇺🇦 Ukraine — High Demand Meets Limited Supply

Ukraine’s labour market continues its gradual stabilisation, but the supply of senior talent remains deeply constrained. Many organisations report extended hiring cycles due to limited availability rather than lack of interest from candidates.

265,000+ vacancies published YTD — but only ~136,000 successfully filled.
Unemployment at 12.1%, the lowest since 2022.
Resume submissions increased +36% month-over-month in May.
Top demand: Finance BPs, In-house Legal Counsels, B2B Marketing Leads, Tech Leads.
Bilingual (EN+UA) talent remains scarce and highly competitive.

The main bottleneck is availability: relocation constraints, mobility issues, and wartime factors significantly reduce the size of the senior talent pool. Internationally experienced candidates are in especially high demand.

Key Takeaways for Employers

Speed wins: time-to-offer is a decisive competitive factor in both markets.
Clear EVP and cultural narrative outperform salary-only positioning.
Cross-border hiring strategies unlock stronger, more diverse candidate pipelines.
Well-structured interview processes reduce drop-off and improve acceptance rates.

How TALANTY PARTNERS Supports Companies

TALANTY PARTNERS operates across Poland, Ukraine, and the Baltics, specialising in high-impact recruitment across Finance, Legal, Marketing, and Technology. We combine market intelligence with structured search and advisory support to help fast-moving organisations hire the right people — not just the first available.

If your company is expanding, entering a new market, or building a strategic function, we are ready to offer tailored insights and recruitment support.

📬 Contact us: contact@talanty.partners