Poland Manufacturing Confidence Improves in January

The general business climate indicator for manufacturing in Poland rose to -3.2 in February 2026 from -4.1 in the previous month. It marked the highest reading since August 2021, although the indicator remained below its long-term average of +0.5. Other sectors also showed improvements, particularly construction (-4.7 vs -5.6), retail trade (-2.1 vs -2.7), and transportation and storage (-0.1 vs -0.4). In contrast, sentiment weakened in information and communication (11.7 vs 12.1) and financial and insurance activities (25.1 vs 25.4).

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.