The majority of those who emigrated from Ukraine to Poland are able to work. The study conducted by the EWL employment agency, the EWL Foundation and Warsaw University's Eastern European Studies shows that 78 percent of Ukrainians living in Poland have jobs here. More than 50 percent provide financial support to their families who have remained abroad.

Despite the fact that a lot of eastern immigrants work, most of them are not in jobs related to their education. The EWL report indicated that although more than half of those surveyed have a university degree, only one in three is employed in a position that matches their qualifications.

Employment that is incompatible with education or simply below acquired skills is an obstacle for both Poles living in Poland and immigrants from abroad.

An EU report of nine countries, however, has proven that European migrants are off to a better start than young people from outside Europe. Migrants from distant parts of the world are much more likely to live in poverty.

The risk of poverty affects about 19 % of European migrants and as much as 37% of migrants from Africa and Asia. This is due to the fact that the latter not always seek employment. Consequently they aren't treated the same way as newcomers from Europe.

Prof. Izabela Grabowska, coordinator of the Polish part of the international study from the Centre for Research on Social Change and Mobility at Kozminski University, explains these inequalities.

Ukrainians in Poland have the right to benefit from social support and are able to use the services of a vocational counsellor, she says. These privileges are denied to other migrants, including newcomers from Afghanistan, Turkey and Armenia.

Employees of government offices and various social organizations are not able to treat all immigrants equally because the state has not provided them with proper tools to to do that.