The precariat in the labour market in Poland - social and economic aspects

The article considers selected aspects of the precariat as a social group existing in the Polish labour market. It discusses why the precariat has appeared, its characteristics and the most important consequences of its existence. It also presents a review of approaches that have been used to determine the size of the Polish precariat and attempts to estimate it. The estimation is based on statistical data characterising three populations: workers for whom an unregistered job is the main job, workers with fixed-term contracts and workers with civil-law contracts. It has been found that not only is the group of precarious workers in Poland alarmingly large, but also that it expands over time. These facts call for measures corresponding to the weight of the problem and its negative consequences to be taken. One of the concluding statements in the article is, however, that there are no grounds to believe that such measures can contribute to the disappearance of this social group.