Ukrainian refugees give Poland big economic boost, report says
WARSAW (Reuters) -Ukrainians have made a significant contribution to Poland's economy and have not caused a rise in unemployment or lower wages for Polish workers, according to a report from the United Nations' refugee agency UNHCR and Deloitte published on Tuesday.
More than three years on from Russia's invasion, many in Poland have grown weary of the influx of refugees from their war-torn neighbour, a sentiment that both liberal and nationalist politicians have tapped into with promises to limit benefits for Ukrainians or give Poles priority in public services.
"This report debunks several myths," Rafał Kostrzyński, a UNHCR spokesperson, told a press conference for the launch of the report. "It is not true that the impact of refugees on the Polish economy is negative."
Poland has hosted over a million Ukrainian refugees and the presidential election in May saw a surge in support for far-right parties, driven in part by anti-Ukrainian sentiment.
However, according to the report, Ukrainian refugees have contributed more to the largest economy in the European Union's eastern wing than they have taken out. Poles across the political spectrum agree that Warsaw must continue to support Kyiv's war effort.
"By allowing Ukrainian refugees to immediately work and start small businesses ... Poland boosted its GDP by a whopping 2.7% in 2024," Kevin J. Allen, UNHCR representative in Poland, said in a statement.
The report said Ukrainian refugees had helped Poland's economy become more specialised and productive, with no decline in employment for Poles and limited data suggesting the presence of refugees caused local wages to rise.
According to the report, many Ukrainian refugees do work that is below their level of education, with only one-third of university graduates holding a position that requires a degree.
Many are also held back because they are not fluent in Polish.
The report says that addressing gaps in the integration of Ukrainians into the labour market could generate macroeconomic gains of 6 billion zlotys ($1.60 billion) annually.
Poland's government did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the report.
($1 = 3.7408 zlotys)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
India's Paytm slumps after government says reports of UPI transaction fees false
(Reuters) -Shares of digital payments firm Paytm slumped as much as 10% on Thursday after India's finance ministry said that reports about the introduction of fees on the popular unified payments interface (UPI) transactions were false and baseless. The shares posted their sharpest intraday fall since February 2024, before coming off lows to trade down 8%. India's benchmark Nifty 50 was trading 0.2% lower. In India, merchants pay fees to banks or payment service providers, such as Paytm, for transactions. There is no fees on UPI payments. The delay or non-introduction of the fees is "sentiment negative for Paytm", brokerage UBS said, adding that the firm's adjusted core profits could decline more than 10% in fiscal years 2026 and 2027 if increased incentives are absent.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Judge says government must release Mahmoud Khalil
The Brief A federal judge ruled that ICE must release Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student and recent Columbia graduate, unless the government appeals within 40 hours. Khalil, a green card holder, was detained in March by DHS agents and held in Louisiana for his involvement in pro-Palestinian campus protest. The Trump administration argues Khalil's activism threatens U.S. foreign policy interests, but has not alleged criminal conduct or presented evidence linking him to extremist groups. NEW YORK - A federal judge has ruled that the government must release Mahmoud Khalil, the former Columbia University student who has been in ICE custody for over two months over pro-Palestinian demonstrations. The government has 40 hours to appeal the decision; until then, Khalil will remain in custody, likely through at least Friday. MORE: Mahmoud Khalil update: Government must provide evidence in case Wednesday, judge says MORE: Over 80 arrested after anti-ICE protest erupts in NYC: 'We will not tolerate chaos' MORE: Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil urge judge to release him from ICE custody in Louisiana "The court's decision is the most significant vindication yet of Mahmoud's rights," said Ramzi Kassem, co-director of CLEAR, a legal nonprofit and clinic at the City University of New York that represents Khalil. "But we aren't out of the woods until Mahmoud is free and back home with his wife and child." Timeline The Trump administration has been pushing to deport Khalil and other student demonstrators over their involvement in campus protests against Israel. "We gave you a visa to study and earn a degree, not to become a social activist and tear up our university campuses," Sen. Marco Rubio said shortly after Khalil's arrest. Khalil, a 30-year-old Palestinian by ethnicity who was born in Syria, was arrested back on March 8 in New York and taken to a detention center in Louisiana. The immigration detention center in Jena, Louisiana, is thousands of miles from his attorneys and wife (a U.S. citizen), who gave birth to their first child while he was in custody. He recently finished his coursework for a master's degree at Columbia's school of international affairs. The backstory Khalil has adamantly rejected allegations of antisemitism, accusing the Trump administration in a letter sent from jail last month of "targeting me as part of a broader strategy to suppress dissent." "Knowing fully that this moment transcends my individual circumstances," he added, "I hope nonetheless to be free to witness the birth of my first-born child." Facing a deadline from an immigration judge to turn over evidence for its attempted deportation of Khalil, the federal government submitted a brief memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, citing the Trump administration's authority to expel non-citizens whose presence in the country damages U.S. foreign policy interests. The two-page memo, which was obtained by the Associated Press, does not allege any criminal conduct by Khalil. Rather, Rubio wrote, Khalil could be expelled for his beliefs. Judge Farbiarz had ruled earlier that expelling Khalil from the U.S. on those grounds was likely unconstitutional. Big picture view The Trump administration has pulled billions of dollars in government funding from universities and their affiliated hospital systems in recent weeks as part of what it says is a campaign against antisemitism on college campuses, but which critics say is a crackdown on free speech. To get the money back, the administration has been telling universities to punish protesters and make other changes. The U.S. government has also been revoking the visas of international students who criticized Israel or accused it of mistreating Palestinians. At the time of Khalil's arrest, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson accused Khalil of leading activities "aligned to Hamas," referring to the militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. But the government has not produced any evidence linking Khalil to Hamas, and made no reference to the group in their most recent filing.
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Marines Deployed To Los Angeles Will Be Able To Detain Civilians
LOS ANGELES, June 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Marines will join National Guard troops on the streets of Los Angeles within two days, officials said on Wednesday, and would be authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration officers on raids or protesters who confront federal agents. U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the deployments over the objections of California Governor Gavin Newsom, sparking a national debate about the use of the military on U.S. soil and animating protests that have spread from Los Angeles to other major cities, including New York, Atlanta and Chicago. Los Angeles on Wednesday endured a sixth day of protests that have been largely peaceful but occasionally punctuated by violence, mostly contained to a few blocks of the city's downtown area. The protests broke out last Friday in response to a series of immigration raids. Trump in turn called in the National Guard on Saturday, then summoned the Marines on Monday. 'If I didn't act quickly on that, Los Angeles would be burning to the ground right now,' said Trump at an event at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. State and local leaders dispute that, saying Trump has only escalated tensions with an unnecessary and illegal deployment of federal troops, while Democrats nationally have condemned his action as authoritarian. Trump is carrying out a campaign promise to deport immigrants, employing forceful tactics consistent with the norm-breaking political style that got him elected twice. 'President Trump promised to carry out the largest mass deportation campaign in American history and left-wing riots will not deter him in that effort,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. The U.S. military said on Wednesday that a battalion of 700 Marines had concluded training specific to the L.A. mission, including de-escalation and crowd control. They would join National Guard under the authority of a federal law known as Title 10 within 48 hours, not to conduct civilian policing but to protect federal officers and property, the military said. 'Title 10 forces may temporarily detain an individual in specific circumstances such as to stop an assault, to prevent harm to others, or to prevent interference with federal personnel performing their duties,' the Northern Command said. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement: 'If any rioters attack ICE law enforcement officers, military personnel have the authority to temporarily detain them until law enforcement makes the arrest.' U.S. Army Major General Scott Sherman, who commands the task force of Marines and Guardsmen, told reporters the Marines will not carry live ammunition in their rifles, but they will carry live rounds. Newsom and the state of California have sued Trump and the Defense Department to stop the deployment, maintaining that none of the Title 10 conditions were met to justify military deployment - such as a when the U.S. is under threat from a foreign invasion or rebellion. California is also seeking a temporary restraining order to immediately stop the National Guard and Marines from participating in civilian law enforcement. A hearing on that restraining order is scheduled for Thursday in San Francisco federal court. The Trump administration argued in a court filing ahead of the hearing that the president has the discretion to determine whether a 'rebellion or danger of a rebellion' requires a military response. In downtown L.A., shortly before the second night of a curfew over a one square mile (2.5 square km) area, relative calm was broken. Police said demonstrators at one location threw commercial grade fireworks and rocks at officers. Another group of nearly 1,000 demonstrators were peacefully marching through downtown when police suddenly opened fired with less lethal munitions in front of City Hall. Marlene Lopez, 39, a Los Angeles native, was demonstrating as flash bangs exploded just a few meters away. 'I am out here because of the fact that our human rights are being violated every day. If we give up, it's over. We have to stand our ground here in L.A. so that the nation will follow us,' Lopez said. Other protests have also taken place in Santa Ana, a largely Mexican-American city about 30 miles (50 km) to the south, as well as major cities such as Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Seattle, Boston and Washington and San Antonio, Texas. New York police said an unknown number of people had been taken into custody on Wednesday. On Tuesday New York police said they took 86 people into custody, of which 34 were arrested and charged, while the others received a criminal court summons. The protests are set to expand on Saturday, when several activist groups have planned more than 1,800 anti-Trump demonstrations across the country. That day, tanks and other armored vehicles will rumble down the streets of Washington, D.C., in a military parade marking the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary and coinciding with Trump's 79th birthday. Reporting by Brad Brooks, Omar Younis, Jane Ross and Arafat Barbakh in Los Angeles, Dietrich Knauth in New York, and Idrees Ali and Tim Reid in Washington; Additional reporting by Costas Pitas, Christian Martinez, Ryan Jones, Ted Hesson and Jasper Ward; Writing by Joseph Ax and Daniel Trotta; Editing by Ross Colvin, Rod Nickel, Lisa Shumaker and Michelle Nichols
