IT sector at risk? Poland is spending more and more on IT specialists from abroad

The import of IT services to Poland increased by 17% in 2024. year to year, mainly due to the purchase of services from Ireland, Germany and the Czech Republic – reported the Polish Economic Institute.

As noted by PIE in its Economic Weekly, the dynamics of Polish exports of services slowed down in 2024 – the value of exports amounted to PLN 471 billion and was 3% lower. higher compared to 2023. At the same time, the value of imports of services to Poland increased by 7%. year to year and amounted to PLN 298 billion. Thus, it was the second case since 2010 (the previous one took place during the pandemic in 2020) when the balance of trade in services decreased on an annual basis – by 4%. year to year.

The Institute pointed out that the increase in imports of services to Poland is related to increased purchases of IT services (an increase of 17% y/y), primarily from Ireland, Germany and the Czech Republic. He pointed out that not only large companies, but also small and medium-sized companies, are interested in purchasing from abroad software implementation services, consulting in the field of computer hardware installation, database services, and especially data processing services. For several years now, there has been an increase in demand for cloud computing services – according to Eurostat data, the share of Polish companies purchasing this type of services has increased from 28.7 percent. in 2021 to 55.7 percent in 2023

As reported by PIE, the share of the United States in Polish exports of services is growing – in 2024 it amounted to 10 percent, which is approximately 2 percentage points more than in 2021. “It is generated thanks to American purchases of telecommunications, IT and information services, which are twice as high as in 2021. The other main directions of trade in services have remained unchanged for years. More than half of services (62 percent) is exported to the EU. Germany remains the leader in trade exchange (22% share in exports), followed by the USA and Great Britain,” the report noted.

For the first time in 15 years, transport services do not dominate exports

In 2024, it decreased by 1%. year-on-year value of exports of transport services and for the first time since 2010, transport services were not the largest category of service exports from Poland – they accounted for 27%. share. In the Institute's opinion, this situation is caused by the economic downturn in Germany, the decline in price competitiveness caused by rising labor costs and the shortage of employees in the transport sector in Poland. Other business services have the largest share in exports – 28%. in 2024, and telecommunications, IT and information services – 17 percent. The year-on-year growth in this category was 11%. – noted in the publication.

A significant decline was recorded in the case of exports in the foreign travel category – by 11%. compared to 2023. As indicated by the Institute, this decline is related to a 40% reduction. year-to-year expenditure of Ukrainian citizens. While in 2022 they constituted approximately 95%. services offered to Ukrainians in Poland, in 2024 they already amounted to 83%.

In the Institute's opinion, the reason for the decline may be the stabilization of the housing situation of Ukrainian citizens or their obtaining resident status. In 2022, the year of Russia's attack on Ukraine, 19 percent Ukrainian refugees used organized accommodation, in 2024 it was already 9%. However, renting increased – in 2022, 52% of premises were rented. Ukrainians, and in 2024 70 percent (PAP)

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