78% of employers plan to maintain employment levels in the next quarter, while only one in four companies plan to raise wages, according to the latest 18th edition of the Gi Group Holding’s “Labor Market Barometer”. Meanwhile, nearly 60% of surveyed workers are counting on a salary increase, with a quarter of them expecting an increase of even 21-30%. How can companies’ plans and employees’ expectations be reconciled?
A study conducted by SW Research on behalf of Gi Group Holding shows that employers are still cautious about recruitment decisions. Less than 13% of surveyed enterprises plan to increase employment, and wage increases, more frequent than before, are determined by a rise in the minimum wage and attempts to counteract rotation.
“The employment results of our ‘Labor Market Barometer’ are similar to those of previous years. Fewer companies plan to increase employment, which is offset by the same number intending to maintain its level. However, a larger percentage of companies intend to do this through active recruitment. Employment activity is slowly reviving – the first quarter of the year is always quieter in the recruitment area than the subsequent ones. The reason for caution could also be the difficult experiences of recent years and the ongoing uncertainty about the future,” explains Marcos Segador Arrebola, Managing Director of Gi Group Holding in Poland.
Recruitment Plans
Last year, many industries optimized costs and processes, including recruitment. According to Gi Group Holding’s study, businesses still make cautious business decisions. Only 13% of employers declare plans to increase employment over the next quarter. A total of 78% of employers predict maintaining the current number of employees, with 58% hoping to do so without hiring new people, while 20% consider hiring new staff. However, a reduction in team numbers is planned by 5% of businesses.
Companies that primarily declare an increase in employment in the next quarter are those employing more than 250 people (16%), in the industrial sector (18%), and operating in the south-western region (nearly 45%).
Almost half of the employees claim that the level of remuneration is the most important factor in changing employment, explains Anna Wesołowska, Managing Director of Gi Group Poland S.A.
The majority of those who expect increases are people aged 25-54. Expectations are most evident in the trade sector (65% in this group expect a wage increase) and among physical workers (71%) and those at the lower level (62%). The overall trend indicates that the lowest earners are the ones who expect increases the most. Among those whose salary exceeds PLN 7000, most expect to maintain their current earnings (47.1%).
It is worth emphasizing that young people entering the job market appreciate flexibility and task-based work, which may translate into a rational wage policy based on higher efficiency and diversification of remuneration rules, comments Professor Grażyna Spytek-Bandurska, labor law expert at the Federation of Polish Employers.
