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Labour input

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National Reference Metadata in Euro SDMX Metadata Structure (ESMS)

Compiling agency: Statistics Poland

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Number of employees and self-employed persons in industry, construction, retail trade and services measures the number of persons employed in quarterly periods.

Hours worked by employees in industry, construction, retail trade and services measures the volume of work done in quarterly periods.

Wages and salaries in industry, construction, retail trade and services measures payments paid to employees in quarterly periods.

10 June 2025

Number of employees and self-employed persons is approximated by number of persons employed. Persons employed are persons who perform work providing earnings (remuneration for work done) or income. Persons employed include:

  • Employees hired on the basis of employment contracts i.e. labour contract,  appointment or election (including seasonal and temporary workers) or service relation
  • Employers and own-account workers, i.e.:
    • owners, co-owners, and leaseholders of private farms in agriculture (including contributing family workers)
    • owners and co-owners (including contributing family workers; excluding partners in companies who do not work in them) of entities conducting economic activity other than that related to private farms in agriculture
    • other self-employed persons, e.g. self-employed professionals
  • Agents
  • Outworkers
  • Members of agricultural production cooperatives (agricultural producers’ cooperatives and cooperatives established on their basis as well as agricultural farmers’ cooperatives).

The total number of hours worked by employees represents the aggregate number of hours actually worked for the output of the observation unit during the reference period. 
Included are hours actually worked during normal working hours; hours worked in addition to those; time which is spent at the place of work on tasks such as preparing the site and time corresponding to short periods of rest at the work place. 
According to this definition, the items include:

  • the total amount of all hours actually worked:
    • during regular working hours
    • overtime, whether paid or unpaid
    • during nights, Sundays or public holidays.

The items exclude:

  • hours paid but not worked due to leave, sickness, accidents, strikes, lock outs, slack time, etc.
  • time spent for meal breaks
  • commuting between home and work.

The variable does not cover self-employed persons.

Wages and salaries are benefits for work, paid or handed over in nature (calculated as appropriate) to employees. Wages and salaries are comprised of: personal wages and salaries and payments from profit and balance surplus in cooperatives.

Personal wages and salaries comprise, among others: basic wages and salaries, premiums and prizes, bonuses (e.g., for working in unhealthy conditions, for seniority, for serving in management positions), wages and salaries for working overtime, wages and salaries for time off (paid lay-offs, holidays, illness) and allowances and claim benefits.

Wages and salaries include remuneration paid to employees or other natural persons irrespective of the sources of their financing, i.e. from the company's own funds or reimbursed.

Statistical unit is KAU, however reporting unit for raw data is legal unit (LEU), which is later estimated into KAU.

The target population for STS data includes kind of activity units with the number of employed persons 10 or more people. The frame for identifying units for the target population is the Statistical Business Register (BJS) supported by the National Official Business Register (REGON).

The basis for the selection of entities is their principal kind of activity according to the Polish Classification of Activities (PKD 2007– equivalent of the NACE Rev. 2) and the number of persons employed.

The number of units by KAU in December 2024 for each area was:

For Industry – 31487 units, i.e. with the number of persons employed:

  • 50 or more persons – 8569 units
  • 10-49 persons – 22918 units.

For Construction – 15883 units, i.e. with the number of persons employed:

  • 50 or more persons – 1337 units
  • 10-49 persons – 14546 units.

For Wholesale and retail trade – 26739 units, i.e. with the number of persons employed:

  • 50 or more persons – 3790 units
  • 10-49 persons – 22949 units.

For Services - 32875 units, i.e. with the number of persons employed:

  • 50 or more persons – 5257 units
  • 10-49 persons – 27618 units.

In addition for wholesale and retail trade and for services for the number of employees and self-employed persons variable small unites (up to 9 persons employed) are added – requested by Eurostat.

Wages and salaries and Hours worked by employees cover all areas of Poland. Number of employees and self-employed persons include persons who perform work in Poland and abroad for the national units in which they were employed.

Reference quarter.

The response rate for main data source, i.e. raw data by legal units in the survey carried out on a DG-1 form is high, there are only negligible non-sampling errors concerning coverage, measurement and non-response. Data are assumed final data and are not revised (except extraordinary situations).

In Eurostat STS data are presented as indices for the number of employees and self-employed persons, wages and salaries and hours worked by employees.

Raw data by legal units are collected in number of persons employed, in thousands PLN for wages and salaries and thousands of hours for hours worked by employees.

After validation of data reported by legal units, data for non-respondents are estimated on the basis of their responses from the previous periods. In order to obtain data for the whole population of KAU covered by the survey, grossing-up is done at the Group level of NACE Rev. 2. Each legal unit covered by the survey has identified KAU’s NACE code which is the basis for grossing-up as well as for data aggregation at the NACE levels required in EBS Regulation. On the basis of absolute values indices are compiled.  

The main data source for raw data is a monthly statistical survey carried out on a DG-1 form and it covers legal units with the number of persons employed 10 or more people. The same survey is also used for collecting other short-term indicators.
 The sample is established once a year based on the Statistical Business Register (BJS) and updated regularly during the year.

The analysis below applies to legal units from survey carried out on a DG-1 form for December 2024.

For industrial units with the number of persons employed:

  • 50 or more persons – a census is conducted (8409 units were covered with the survey, out of which 7465 units submitted the report),
  • 10-49 persons – 22748 units, out of which a minimum 10% sample is selected at the division level of sections B to E36 of NACE Rev. 2 at each NUTS 2 level (3299 units, among which 2188 units submitted the report).

For construction units with the number of persons employed:

  • 50 or more persons – a census is conducted (1323 units were covered with the survey, out of which 1108 units submitted the report),
  • 10-49 persons – 14519 units, out of which a minimum 10% sample is selected at the division level of section F of NACE Rev. 2 at each NUTS 2 level (1604 units, among which 934 units submitted the report).

For wholesale and retail trade units with the number of persons employed:

  • 50 or more persons – a census is conducted (3767 units were covered with the survey, out of which 3327 units submitted the report),
  • 10-49 persons – 22944 units, out of which a minimum 10% sample is selected at the division level of division 45, 46, 47 of NACE Rev. 2 at each NUTS 2 level (4388 units, among which 2873 units submitted the report).

For services units with the number of persons employed:

  • 50 or more persons – a census is conducted (5441 units were covered with the survey, out of which 4599 units submitted the report),
  • 10-49 persons – 27863 units, out of which a minimum 10% sample is selected at the division level of sections H, I, J, L, M (excl.701, 72, 75) and N of NACE Rev. 2 at each NUTS 2 level (3668 units, among which 2182 units submitted the report).

In addition for wholesale and retail trade and for services, the small unites (up to 9 persons employed) are added for the variables: number of employees and self-employed persons (requested by Eurostat).
Data reported by legal units (raw data) for national purposes are compiled by LEU, however each legal unit covered by the survey has identified KAU’s NACE code which is the basis for compiling data by KAU.

STS data by KAU are published quarterly nationally and quarterly transmitted to Eurostat.

Raw data by legal units are published monthly (number of employees and self-employed persons, wages and salaries) and quarterly (hours worked by employees) nationally. 

STS data by KAU are sent to Eurostat according to the EBS Regulation, and approx. a month later are published nationally.

The same statistical concepts and classifications are applied in the entire national territory.
Polish Classification of Activities (PKD 2007) is consistent with European Classification of Economic Activities (NACE Rev.2).
Classification of territorial division applied in Polish statistics is consistent with the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS).

Data are comparable over time. Time series according to NACE Rev. 2 are available in Eurostat from 2000 onwards (2010 for hours worked and wages and salaries in wholesale and retail trade and services). Since 2021 data are compiled by KAU, before 2021 data were compiled by LEU (an approximation of enterprise), therefore insignificant breaks in time series may appear in some aggregates.