Editing Bielsko-Biała (section)

==Economy ==
At the end of 2021, 27,799 enterprises were registered in the National Official Register of Entities of the National Economy. 26,724 (96.13%) of them were in the [[private sector]], and 597 (2.14%) in the [[public sector]]. Enterprises employing up to 9 employees dominated, with 26,619. Only three enterprises had more than a thousand employees.<ref name="raport o stanie miasta"/>

The [[unemployment rate]] was only 2.2% at the end of 2021 and was significantly lower than the national and provincial average (among the cities of the [[Silesian Voivodeship]], it was lower only in [[Katowice]] and [[Tychy]]).<ref name="raport o stanie miasta"/> The average gross monthly salary in Bielsko-Biała was PLN 5,789.65, which corresponded to 96.5% of the average gross monthly [[salary]] in Poland. Among the economically active residents, 4,700 people traveled to other cities to work, and 24,302 people came to work from outside the municipality, meaning that the balance of arrivals and departures to work was 19,602. 42.9% of people worked in [[industry (economics)|industry]] and [[construction]], 21.3% in the [[service sector]], 2.3% in the [[financial sector]], and 0.9% in [[agriculture]].<ref name = population/>

Historically, Bielsko-Biała was an important industrial center, especially of the [[textile industry]], which, however, completely lost its importance as a result of the economic transformation after 1989. Among the few factories today that continue these traditions are the Befaszczot brush factory, the Befado shoe factory, the Zipper zipper factory and the Rytex wool fabric manufacturer.
[[File:Bielsko-Biała, Komorowice - Fiat, hipermarkety, ul. Niepodległości.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of the Stellantis Poland plant (formerly Fiat Auto Poland)]]
Currently, the largest industrial area is located in the northern part of the city between [[Komorowice, Bielsko-Biała|Komorowice]], [[Stare Bielsko]] and [[Dolne Przedmieście, Bielsko-Biała|Dolne Przedmieście]]. This is the former [[Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych]], which was taken over by [[Fiat Auto Poland]] during the transformation and since 2021 has been part of [[Stellantis Poland]]. While actual car production now takes place in [[Tychy]], the plant in Bielsko-Biała produces [[engine]]s. Since 2000, the area has been one of the sub-areas of the Katowice [[Special Economic Zone]]. In subsequent years, further areas in [[Wapienica, Bielsko-Biała|Wapienica]], [[Komorowice, Bielsko-Biała|Komorowice]] and [[Lipnik, Bielsko-Biała|Lipnik]] were included. In 2021, a total of twenty enterprises employing more than 4.6 thousand workers operated on the 82-hectare area of the special economic zone.<ref name="raport o stanie miasta">{{cite web |title=Raport o stanie miasta Bielska-Białej za rok 2021 |url=https://bielsko-biala.pl/sites/default/files/inline-files/RAPORT~1.PDF|publisher=Department of Strategy and Economic Development - Municipal Office in Bielsko-Biała |access-date=25 July 2023 |language=pl}}</ref>

Other important factories based in Bielsko-Biala include Bielmar, which produces margarines, oils and animal feed, as well as the Silesian Vodka Factory [[Polmos|POLMOS]] Bielsko-Biała, where Extra Żytnia vodka is produced.
[[File:Bielsko-Biała, Sfera 2.jpg|thumb|Galeria Sfera shopping mall]]
[[File:SDH Klimczok Bielsko-Biała.jpg|thumb|Klimczok department store]]
Bielsko-Biala is among the cities with the highest saturation of [[retail space]] in Poland. According to a 2019 report by [[Colliers International]], it was {{convert|1151|m2|sqft}} per 1,000 residents. In total, the city had {{convert|197000|m2|sqft}} of retail space.<ref>{{cite web |title=Galerie handlowe – raport branżowy |url=https://www.bosbank.pl/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/31842/BOSBank_Galerie_handlowe_2020.12.pdf |publisher=BOŚ Bank |access-date=25 July 2023 |language=pl}}</ref> As much as one-third of this figure fell on the largest shopping mall, which is [[Sfera (mall)|Galeria Sfera]]. It consists of two buildings—Sfera I and Sfera II—erected on the site of former industrial plants and completed in 2001 and 2009, respectively.<ref>{{cite web |title=O galerii |url=https://www.sfera.com.pl/pl/o_galerii/ |publisher=Galeria Sfera |access-date=25 July 2023}}</ref> There are a number of other shopping facilities in the immediate vicinity, led by the [[Klimczok (department store)|"Klimczok" Cooperative Department Store]] owned by [[Społem|PSS Społem]], which was built in 1988 and at the time was one of the largest in Poland.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wielkie otwarcie domu handlowego w Bielsku w 1988 roku |url=https://www.tychy.info/wiadomosci/14012-wideo-wielkie-otwarcie-domu-handlowego-w-bielsku-w-1988-roku-bielsko-biala |publisher=tychy.info.pl |access-date=25 July 2023 |language=pl |date=2022-01-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Schody do luksusu |url=https://bielsko.biala.pl/reportaze/24085/schody-do-luksusu |publisher=bielsko.biala.pl |access-date=25 July 2023 |language=pl |date=2012-12-30}}</ref> At the start of the 1990s an [[urban myth]] arose about the department store concerning drug users deliberately leaving blood on the escalators. The anthropologist [[Olga Drenda]] has suggested the story, relating to the contemporary [[HIV epidemic]], is symbolic of the era of transition from communism.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zakrzewski |first1=Patryk |translator-last=Dudek| translator-first=Agnes |title=Regions of Untamed Thought: An Interview with Olga Drenda |url=https://culture.pl/en/article/regions-of-untamed-thought-an-interview-with-olga-drenda |website=culture.pl |access-date=15 August 2024 |language=Polish |date=16 August 2022}}</ref> Other large shopping malls include Gemini Park in [[Leszczyny, Bielsko-Biała|Leszczyny]] and Sarni Stok in the northern part of the city. There are also [[Auchan]], [[Kaufland]], [[Makro]], [[Castorama]] and [[Leroy Merlin]] hypermarkets, as well as number of supermarkets and smaller retail outlets. The traditional shopping promenade is [[11 Listopada Street, Bielsko-Biała|11 Listopada Street]]. However, the number of stores and service outlets located through it has declined markedly in recent years, which is often attributed to the negative influence of large shopping malls.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Drost |first1=Jacek |title=Ulica 11 Listopada w Bielsku-Białej: nic nie uratuje tej ulicy? |url=https://bielskobiala.naszemiasto.pl/ulica-11-listopada-w-bielsku-bialej-nic-nie-uratuje-tej/ar/c4-2216356 |publisher=bielskobiala.naszemiasto.pl |access-date=25 July 2023 |language=pl |date=2014-03-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Furtak |first1=Ewa |title=Deptak banków, na reanimację za późno |url=https://bielskobiala.wyborcza.pl/bielskobiala/7,88025,14826989,deptak-bankow-na-reanimacje-za-pozno.html |publisher=[[Gazeta Wyborcza]] |language=pl |date=2013-10-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Dydo |first1=Magdalena |title=Trup w środku miasta |url=https://bielsko.biala.pl/2235,artykul |publisher=bielsko.biala.pl |access-date=25 July 2023 |language=pl |date=2010-06-25}}</ref> Outdoor [[marketplace]]s are located on Lompy and Broniewskiego Street, as well as in [[Komorowice, Bielsko-Biała|Komorowice Krakowskie]].

The most important [[trade fair]]s held in Bielsko-Biala are the ENERGETAB Bielsko International Energy Fair organized by ZIAD Bielsko-Biała, as well as those whose organization is the responsibility of the ASTRA Promotion and Exhibition Office: the "Twój Dom" International Construction Fair, the "Instal-System" Fair of Heating Techniques and Energy Saving, and the EKOStyl International Fair. The main venue for the fairs is the multi-purpose hall on Karbowa Street.