A record number of Poles could leave the country this year, a new report by HR consultants, Work Service, said.

The “Economic Migrations Of The Poles” report said that 1.275 million people want to emigrate from Poland. The number grew from 1.025 million in 2014.

“Poles still would preferably go to [other] countries of the European Union. This is probably supported by the ease of taking legal employment there. Among the most preferred directions of emigration are: Great Britain, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands,” the report said.

One in five active or potential participants in the Polish labour market is considering economic emigration, the report said.

Of these, 63 percent are young people (under 35 years of age), 29 percent are students, and 31 percent have at least secondary education.

For 75 percent of respondents, the main reason for departure is the potential of higher wages.

The UK (27 percent), Germany (26 percent), Norway (11 percent) and the Netherlands (nine percent) are the most preferred directions of emigration.

The full report can be found here (requires download). (rg)