{"id":192796,"date":"2026-06-22T11:54:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T08:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T14:11:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T11:11:57","slug":"workers-moving-west-growing-wage-gap-around-belarus","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/","title":{"rendered":"Workers moving West: growing wage gap around Belarus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n    <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1405\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Forset.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Forset.jpg 1405w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Forset-354x181.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Forset-734x376.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Forset-768x394.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1405px) 100vw, 1405px\" \/>\n    <figcaption>\n        \n            <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A labor market crisis begins long before employers start looking for workers. It starts with demographics: declining birth rates, an aging population, high premature mortality among men and the migration of young people either to the capital or beyond the country\u2019s borders. This is the reality across much of Eastern Europe today. The UN identifies aging, urbanization and international migration among the key demographic trends of our time, while Eurostat shows that, by the beginning of 2025, people aged 65 and over already accounted for 22 percent of the EU population.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart\" data-src=\"visualisation\/28950743\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/visualisation\/28950743\/thumbnail\" width=\"100%\" alt=\"chart visualization\" \/><\/noscript><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Belarus\u2019 population fell from 10.19 million in 1991 to 9.06 million on January 1, 2026, according to Bie\u0142stat. But what matters is not only how many people remain, but also where they live. Over the same period, the urban population increased from roughly two-thirds to almost four-fifths of the total population. This means that people have been moving from the periphery not only abroad, but also inward\u2014toward Minsk and other major cities. Rural areas and small towns are losing labor twice: first to the capital and then to foreign labor markets.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart\" data-src=\"visualisation\/28950803\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/visualisation\/28950803\/thumbnail\" width=\"100%\" alt=\"chart visualization\" \/><\/noscript><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This leads to the central question facing the labor market: who will work tomorrow, and where? Formally, unemployment in Belarus, measured according to ILO methodology, remained low at 2.3 percent in the first quarter of 2026. But low unemployment in a shrinking demographic system does not always signal prosperity. Sometimes it simply means that there are almost no spare workers left and that the labor reserve is being depleted faster than it can be replenished. Neighboring countries are facing similar challenges and are increasingly trying to fill labor shortages not only with their own citizens but also with foreign workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That is why competitive wages relative to those in other countries matter. In March 2026, Belarus\u2019 average monthly wage before taxes amounted to 2,975.8 rubels, but it was lower in the Brest region (2,587.1 rubels) and the Hrodna region (2,642.4 rubels). Wages were significantly higher across the border. In Poland\u2019s Podlaskie Voivodeship, the average monthly wage in 2024 was PLN 7,446.2; in Lubelskie Voivodeship, it was PLN 7,374.45. In Latvia\u2019s Latgale region, the average wage reached EUR 1,302 in 2025. In Lithuania\u2019s Alytus County, according to the latest available detailed official dataset, it stood at EUR 1,435.3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This initial comparison already reveals the fundamental wage asymmetry across the border: the gap exists not between distant economies, but between neighboring regions.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart\" data-src=\"visualisation\/28962586\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/visualisation\/28962586\/thumbnail\" width=\"100%\" alt=\"chart visualization\" \/><\/noscript><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The pattern becomes even clearer when wages are mapped across the broader border area rather than compared through selected examples alone. The gap is not abstract; it is visible between neighboring territories that are geographically close but economically separated.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-map\" data-src=\"visualisation\/29039750\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/visualisation\/29039750\/thumbnail\" width=\"100%\" alt=\"map visualization\" \/><\/noscript><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If these official figures are converted into a common currency using end-March 2026 exchange rates, the picture becomes even more striking. The average monthly wage in the Brest region amounts to about EUR 757, while in the Hrodna region it is around EUR 773. In contrast, the average wage in Podlaskie Voivodeship is approximately EUR 1,736, and in Lubelskie Voivodeship around EUR 1,719. Of course, this conversion does not constitute a fully harmonized cross-country statistical series: national statistical offices use different reporting periods and conversion methods. Even so, it illustrates the key point. Along the Belarusian-European border, there is not merely a difference in living standards, but a substantial wage gap that continually creates incentives for labor migration westward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This gap, however, is not the same as an open door. To enter the EU labor market, a citizen of a non-EU country must complete visa, migration and work-permit procedures designed to selectively admit those whom the economy needs, those already embedded in migration networks, or those able to obtain legal status through employment, study, business activity, or protection mechanisms. According to Eurostat, Poland issued 337,874 first residence permits for employment reasons in 2024\u2014more than any other EU country. For Belarusians, employment was the primary reason for obtaining a first residence permit.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-map\" data-src=\"visualisation\/28961995\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/visualisation\/28961995\/thumbnail\" width=\"100%\" alt=\"map visualization\" \/><\/noscript><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The permit data show how this selection process works in practice. Since 2019, the principal EU destination for Belarusians receiving first residence permits has been Poland, followed by Lithuania.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart\" data-src=\"visualisation\/29055783\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/visualisation\/29055783\/thumbnail\" width=\"100%\" alt=\"chart visualization\" \/><\/noscript><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The Belarusian case is particularly revealing. In 2024, Belarusians received 174,790 first residence permits in the EU. Of these, 151,116 were issued by Poland and 15,812 by Lithuania. This was not a one-year anomaly but part of a stable post-2020 migration trend centered on Poland and Lithuania. In other words, almost the entire primary flow was directed toward two neighboring countries. In Lithuania, this trend has already become a visible feature of the labor market itself. As of January 1, 2025, the country had 106,400 foreigners holding residence permits issued on employment grounds, including 41,400 Belarusians. Wage asymmetry is therefore no longer merely creating the possibility of migration; it is actively shaping entire segments of regional labor demand and the corresponding supply of workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Belarus, this process carries an obvious risk. The country is losing not only population in general, but specifically the segment most important to the future labor market: mobile, relatively young, professionally active individuals capable of changing both their workplace and place of residence. For neighboring receiving countries, the situation is more complex. On the one hand, they gain additional workers and partially alleviate their own labor shortages. On the other hand, they face challenges related to integration, labor-market segmentation, pressure on social infrastructure and regional imbalances, since newcomers tend to concentrate in areas where economic opportunities already exist rather than in the weakest regions. This asymmetry is clearly visible in Latvia, where the average-wage gap between Riga and Pieriga on one side and Latgale on the other reached 34.6 percent in 2025. It is also evident in Lithuania, where Vilnius County has pulled far ahead of the country\u2019s southern and peripheral regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine has brought another major shift to the labor market. By the end of March 2026, 4.33 million people from Ukraine were under temporary protection in the EU, with Poland alone hosting more than 961,000 of them. The mass displacement of Ukrainians, mobilization, changes in employment structures and growing labor demand in neighboring countries have sharply intensified competition for workers across the region. In Eastern Europe, labor migration no longer resembles a private decision made by individual households. It has become part of a new regional economic reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the same time, another process is unfolding along the same border: irregular migration and the political use of migration flows. Frontex reported a sharp increase in pressure on the EU\u2019s eastern borders in 2024, including what it described as hybrid pressure originating from Belarus. This matters because borders function as complex filters. Workers, refugees, transit migrants, temporary-protection decisions, admission procedures and security considerations all pass through them, while wage disparities continue to shape the socioeconomic future of the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A labor market crisis begins long before employers start looking for workers. It starts with demographics: declining birth rates, an aging population, high premature mortality among men and the migration of young people either to the capital or beyond the country\u2019s borders. This is the reality across much of Eastern Europe today. The UN identifies [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":192821,"template":"","rubric":[24],"class_list":["post-192796","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Workers moving West: growing wage gap around Belarus | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A labor market crisis begins long before employers start looking for workers. It starts with demographics: declining birth rates, an aging population,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Workers moving West: growing wage gap around Belarus | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A labor market crisis begins long before employers start looking for workers. It starts with demographics: declining birth rates, an aging population,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-22T11:11:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Forset.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1405\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/\"},\"headline\":\"Workers moving West: growing wage gap around Belarus\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-22T08:54:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-22T11:11:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/\"},\"wordCount\":1105,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Forset.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/\",\"name\":\"Workers moving West: growing wage gap around Belarus | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Forset.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-22T08:54:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-22T11:11:57+00:00\",\"description\":\"A labor market crisis begins long before employers start looking for workers. It starts with demographics: declining birth rates, an aging population,\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Forset.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Forset.jpg\",\"width\":1405,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Workers moving West: growing wage gap around Belarus\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Workers moving West: growing wage gap around Belarus | Pozirk","description":"A labor market crisis begins long before employers start looking for workers. It starts with demographics: declining birth rates, an aging population,","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Workers moving West: growing wage gap around Belarus | Pozirk","og_description":"A labor market crisis begins long before employers start looking for workers. It starts with demographics: declining birth rates, an aging population,","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2026-06-22T11:11:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1405,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Forset.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/"},"headline":"Workers moving West: growing wage gap around Belarus","datePublished":"2026-06-22T08:54:19+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-22T11:11:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/"},"wordCount":1105,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Forset.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/","name":"Workers moving West: growing wage gap around Belarus | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Forset.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-22T08:54:19+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-22T11:11:57+00:00","description":"A labor market crisis begins long before employers start looking for workers. It starts with demographics: declining birth rates, an aging population,","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Forset.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Forset.jpg","width":1405,"height":720},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/192796\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Workers moving West: growing wage gap around Belarus"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","name":"Pozirk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization","name":"Pozirk","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Pozirk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/longreads\/192796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/longreads"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/longreads"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=192796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}