Poland Industry Confidence Improves Slightly

The general business climate indicator for manufacturing in Poland rose to -4.1 in January 2026 from a one-year low of -11.6 in December 2025. Despite the improvement, the indicator remained below its long-term mean of +0.5. Most companies expected the prices of services or raw materials to increase at a slower pace in both the near term (47.5) and the longer term (51). Aside from the manufacturing sector, the construction sector (-5.6) also gave the most pessimistic assessment, with the indicator also remaining below the long-term mean of -3.6. In contrast, the financial and insurance sector continued to show the most positive sentiment (25.4), broadly in line with its long-term average.

The general business climate indicator in manufacturing for Poland fell to -11.6 in December 2025, the lowest reading since December 2024, down from -7.9 in November. Manufacturing and construction sectors remained the most pessimistic, with construction at -10.0, both below their long-term averages. Financial and insurance activities continued to report the most positive sentiment at 23.6, although the indicator remains below its long-term mean. Companies plan to largely maintain stable employment over the next three months, with 90.4% keeping hard-to-replace workers unchanged and 80.5% keeping easily replaceable staff unchanged. Salary decisions will be driven mainly by the company’s financial situation (65.0%) and maintaining real wages amid inflation (54.5%), while 71.6% of firms base their employment and pay decisions primarily on current data rather than long-term expectations.

The general business climate indicator in manufacturing for Poland fell to -7.9 in November 2025, slightly up from -8 in the previous month. Despite the modest uptick, companies continued to face mounting operational difficulties, with 52.7% reporting higher investment costs and 32.1% citing an uncertain macroeconomic situation. Other challenges, such as insufficient demand for the company’s products or services (23.1%), unclear and unstable legal regulations (19.6%), and difficulties in obtaining external financing (12.6%) were also common. Among sectors, construction was the most pessimistic at -8.9, followed by manufacturing at -7.9, both below their long-term averages of -3.6 and 0.6, respectively. In contrast, financial and insurance activities remained the most positive at 24.4, a level close to the long-term mean of 25.4.