Recruitment activity is slowing, while companies are becoming increasingly cautious about expanding their teams. However, the latest edition of the National Employment Index, developed by the Gremi Personal Analytical Centre, points to a change of much greater significance than short-term fluctuations in the business cycle.
For the first time, artificial intelligence and automation have ranked among the five most important challenges identified by business owners. This signals that technology is beginning to influence not only investment strategies, but also the way companies organise work and plan their future staffing needs.
Public debate about the labour market usually focuses on the number of new jobs, wage growth and the scale of recruitment. Yet the NEI report points to a process that cannot be seen in employment statistics alone. The way companies make staffing decisions is becoming increasingly different.
Alongside economic conditions, companies are placing greater emphasis on organisational productivity, the availability of skills and the impact of new technologies on their business models.
This does not amount to a sudden shift or a revolution in the labour market. Rather, it marks the beginning of a gradual change in priorities. Although this trend is currently most visible in corporate strategies, it could have an increasingly significant impact on the structure of employment in the coming years.
A Neutral Index Reading Does Not Mean That Nothing Is Changing
The National Employment Index stood at 50 points in the first quarter of 2026, indicating a balance between factors supporting employment growth and those limiting it.
However, the headline figure does not provide a complete picture. The underlying data and the behaviour of companies observed in recent months reveal much more about the current situation.
According to the survey, 62.5% of companies plan to maintain their current employment levels. A further 25.7% intend to increase their headcount, while 11.8% expect to reduce the number of positions.
This distribution of responses does not suggest a collapse in the labour market. It does, however, confirm that staffing decisions are being made with much greater caution than during periods of rapid economic growth and intense competition for workers.
Technology Is No Longer Just an IT Project
One of the most notable findings of the report is the changing role of technology in corporate strategies. For the first time, artificial intelligence and automation have been included among the five most important business challenges.
The authors of the report note that some workforce optimisation processes are beginning to result not only from macroeconomic conditions, but also from the implementation of new technologies.
This represents an important shift in interpretation. The report does not state that artificial intelligence is becoming a direct cause of job reductions, nor does it suggest that workers are being rapidly replaced by technological solutions.
Instead, it shows that companies are increasingly analysing decisions about work organisation alongside decisions on technology investment. In practice, this means that workforce planning is becoming part of a broader corporate development strategy.
Companies Are Rethinking How Organisations Should Grow
For many years, companies built their competitive advantage primarily by rapidly expanding their operations, recruiting more employees and maintaining high rates of growth.
The current economic environment is encouraging businesses to adopt a different approach. Greater importance is now being attached to efficient resource use, organisational resilience and the ability to adapt business processes to changing market conditions.
In this context, the decision to create a new position is increasingly becoming part of a broader analysis. This includes not only operational needs, but also opportunities for automation, the use of digital tools and the development of employees’ skills.
This does not mean that human capital is becoming less important. On the contrary, qualifications that enable employees to work effectively in an environment where technology supports a growing number of processes are becoming increasingly valuable.
Industrial Sectors Are the First to Feel the Effects of Structural Change
The report indicates that the greatest pressure is currently concentrated in industrial sectors, particularly those that are heavily dependent on exports and energy costs.
Employment in the automotive industry fell by 3.4% year on year, while the furniture industry recorded a decline of 3.2%.
Analysts emphasise that these developments form part of broader changes taking place across European industry and should not be interpreted solely as the result of a short-term economic slowdown.
These are also the sectors in which investment in automation, robotics and digital solutions has for years been among the main tools used to improve competitiveness.
As a result, employment decisions are increasingly linked to companies’ long-term modernisation strategies.
The NEI Reveals a Shift in Corporate Priorities
The most important signal from the latest edition of the National Employment Index prepared by the Gremi Personal Analytical Centre is not a single indicator or an individual business decision. It is the overall direction of change in the way companies plan their development.
“For the first time, we are seeing artificial intelligence and automation identified by business owners as one of the most important business challenges. We are not saying that technology is replacing people today. What it does show is that decisions about work organisation are increasingly being analysed in parallel with technology investments,” said Tomasz Bogdewicz, CEO of Gremi Personal.
“Companies no longer plan their development solely through the number of employees they have. The way skills are used, process productivity and an organisation’s ability to operate in a changing economic environment are becoming increasingly important,” he added.
The NEI data do not point to a rapid transformation of the labour market. Instead, they show a gradual change in the way companies make decisions.
This shift in priorities may prove to be one of the most important processes shaping the labour market in the years ahead.
