Is the Job Market Slowing in Poland?

Last year, we covered a story about layoffs that had started affecting the Polish recruitment industry. The story wasn’t a one off. In 2023 many recruitment businesses trimmed their headcount. Not just in Poland, but across Europe. The hope was that things would improve in 2024. Looking at some of the financial results being posted by the leading recruitment businesses around the world, perhaps we were being optimistic. But is the job market slowing in Poland too?

It isn’t as easy to gauge the exact health of the Polish market. Our newswire, Magazyn Rekruter, is one of the places to come to for this information. But there are other news outlets too. The majority in Polish, which is why we thought we would share this story in English. There are many decision makers located outside of Poland that need insights into what is happening in the Polish job market. We are here to provide that insight.

Many decision makers who oversee operations in Poland are based in the UK. As many of our readers will know, the UK traditionally has a job market that is the envy of most European countries. But not today. In fact, the UK is currently one of the worst job markets in Europe. And there is little sign of things improving.

In London the tech sector had been booming since the early 00s. By 2020 it was still surging. Today it is anything but. Nor are most other sectors. Candidates are reluctant to change jobs. It is taking longer to hire people too. Much of this drop in confidence amongst workers can be put down to economic and political uncertainty. Something that affects most countries in Europe, including Poland.

PageGroup and others point to India as a shining light. And it just so happens that the Prime Minister of India was recently in Poland to create a Polish-Indian Strategic Partnership. It is useful to see this initiative.

What are the Latest Developments on the Polish job market?

A great source of knowledge about the Polish job market is the leading recruitment federation ‘Polskie Forum HR’, or PFHR. With a representative membership, the organization also publishes updates on the job market in Poland on its site. We had a look at some of the stories published since the beginning of the year that were relevant to our readers.

In January the CEO of PFHR, Anna Wicha, stated how she hoped that after a difficult 2023 the conditions on the job market would improve. The organisation also published the results of a joint survey it runs with the Polish Confederation Lewiatan. The report stated how 27 percent of employers planned reducing headcount, whilst only 35 percent planned growth. It wasn’t a spectacular result.

Manpower also conducts surveys, these are called the ManpowerGroup Employment Perspective Barometer, amongst companies in Poland. The results of these surveys are also available on PFHR’s website. The results are only slightly more optimistic than the one above from January. This trend seems to have continued throughout the year.

The most recent survey by Manpower is from September this year. Tomasz Walenczak, Managing Director of ManpowerGroup in Poland stated in the report how things were better in Poland than many other countries. The report also explains how 35 percent of companies still want to employ more people, but that only 19 percent are planning to reduce headcount. A big increase in confidence since the beginning of 2024.

The tech sector was highlighted as one of the areas of growth going forward. However, Tomasz erred to the side of caution here. He explained how the tech sector was mainly growing due to the need to continue supporting digital transformation and artificial intelligence projects, whilst continuing to strengthen cybersecurity teams.

Do Recruitment Companies in Poland need to Diversify?

To ensure the job market in any country is fully supported it is essential to have a strong base of recruitment companies. These companies are essential in the search for talent that companies coming into the Polish market need. And there are still companies looking at Poland as an investment destination.

There is also a level of maturity that the job market was always going to achieve. It’s been a long time since we saw the swathe of new shopping centres opening around various Polish cities and towns. Today the investments are more around new business parks, residential areas, or railway stations. The needs of clients are no doubt changing across all sectors. Not just real estate.

A few weeks ago, the large UK-listed recruitment company, Hays, published its preliminary results for the year ended 30 June 2024. The report had to offer shareholders some comfort.

In the report, Dirk Hahn, Chief Executive, calls flexible working a ‘megatrend’. He highlighted how Hays needs to strengthen its offering in this space. Later in the report he added how focus countries for Hays includes Poland where the company wants to drive temp and contracting volumes.

Nick Kirk, the Chief Executive Officer of PageGroup, in the company’s recent Half Year Results 2024 added how PageGroup needed further diversification into non-permanent recruitment.

ManpowerGroup has also published an investor presentation this August. The U.S. based recruiter has a substantial presence in Poland. However, it also sees the need for diversification. Mainly into higher margin business, according to the presentation. All this whilst pushing for relentless efficiency and productivity across both Experis and Manpower, the company’s main two brands.

There is a clear appetite to diversify amongst the leaders of the recruitment industry. Whether the leading recruitment companies in Poland need to diversify like their counterparts elsewhere is less clear.

Other Things to Consider about the Job Market in Poland

In summary, it’s important that it is highlighted that in the preparation of this story only a select few surveys of the job market were mentioned. There is no doubt more indicators of the job market in Poland. Some of them mention an oncoming talent crisis as fewer and fewer production workers enter the job market. Other reports show how the amount of job offers published online has increased for the first time in over a year.

It’s important to remember that whatever happens the oncoming elections in the U.S. will have a profound affect on Europe. And Poland. We may have to wait till the dust settles in the White House in 2025 before the real state of the job market in Poland becomes clear.

#JobMarket #Poland #Hays #PageGroup #Manpower

Author: Andy Samu

The content of this story is in no way biased against or towards any individual, company or organization. The information relayed in this story is all uptodate and taken from reliable sources. The publisher and the journalist take no responsibility for any damages real or alleged. 

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