Although half of Poles still feel secure in their current workplace, concerns about professional stability are growing, with 33.3% of working people declaring such fears. This uncertainty translates into a greater readiness to actively look for a new job and openness to changing careers. Among those who fear losing their job, as many as 66% are considering switching professions, according to the “Labour Market Barometer 2026” report by Gi Group Holding.
Growing fears of job loss and company hiring plans
Concerns about job stability have increased, especially compared with the situation two or three years ago. Currently, 33.3% of professionally active people report such concerns, compared with 26% two years earlier. At the same time, the share of people who feel calm about their job has fallen from 55% last year to 50.7% today, according to Gi Group Holding’s “Labour Market Barometer 2026”. Importantly, uncertainty is increasingly related to the coming months rather than the distant future.
“Although the majority of Poles still feel stable in their workplace, concerns are growing. This is linked to general uncertainty and also results from observations of the market. Rising business costs, including labour costs, and the unpredictability of economic conditions mean that companies are limiting the scale of recruitment, focusing on positions that are key from the point of view of efficiency,” explains Agnieszka Żak, Key Account Director at Gi Group.
Companies are currently taking a cautious approach to recruitment planning. As was the case one or two years ago, they most often intend to maintain their current employment levels, declared by more than 72.7% of them. An increase in headcount in the next quarter is planned by 13.7% of organisations, compared with 16.7% a year earlier. At the same time, the share of companies expecting reductions has doubled, from 4.9% last year to 9.8%. These are not alarming figures, but they do show that companies are highly cautious and are taking a more conservative approach to expanding teams amid rising costs and an uncertain economic environment.
Public sector and services employees feel the most secure
Fears of job loss are clearly more common among women. They are reported by 37.7% of women, which is 7 percentage points more than last year. Among men, the figure is not only lower, at 29%, but has also decreased compared with 2025, by 3.6 percentage points.
People aged 25–44 are most likely to worry about job stability, with the share declaring such concerns increasing significantly in this group — from 31% to almost 40%. Younger people under 24 also express above-average concern, at 37.3%. Older employees feel the safest. Among people over 55, as many as 65.6% do not fear losing their job, while 20% are concerned about it. Among those aged 45–54, the corresponding figures are 61% and 24.5%.
As last year, the highest level of uncertainty about professional situation is reported by people earning more than PLN 10,000 net per month — currently 48.7% of them indicate such concerns. Employees earning between PLN 7,000 and PLN 9,900 net are the calmest, with 22.6% of respondents in this group declaring fears.
Gi Group Holding’s “Labour Market Barometer” shows that concerns are most common among employees in transport and logistics, at 46.6%, trade, at 42%, and manufacturing, at 39.3%. The greatest sense of security is reported by those working in the public sector, at 20.7%, and in services, at 28.2%. These are also the only sectors where concerns are lower than last year. In terms of job level, uncertainty has increased in almost all groups, especially among lower-level employees, with as many as 40.4% indicating concerns. The exception is senior specialists, among whom the share of those worried fell to 26.2%.
“The level of concern clearly differs depending on age, gender, position and industry. Older employees not only feel more secure than younger ones, but they also experience anxiety about maintaining employment less often than a year ago. The difference between women and men is also more visible. While last year sentiment in both groups was similar, today women report uncertainty much more often. The biggest change was recorded in transport and logistics, where the share of people fearing job loss rose by almost 16 percentage points,” comments Agnieszka Żak, Key Account Director at Gi Group.
Residents of the northern region are the least likely to fear losing their position, at 23%. Fewer concerns than a year ago are also visible in the southern region, where the figure fell from 40% to 34.2%. The most worried are residents of the south-western region, at 43%, as well as the central region, at 36.5%, and the eastern region, at 36.3%. In all these cases, the figures are higher than a year earlier.
Uncertainty, job searching and openness to changing careers
Among people who fear losing their job or intend to change it, the share actively looking for new employment exceeds the share of those who do not intend to take such steps, at 56.7% and 43.4%, respectively. However, proactivity is gradually weakening. Employees are making career decisions more cautiously and postponing possible job changes.
“Poles are now analysing the pros and cons of changing jobs more carefully, but the trend of taking matters into their own hands appears to be lasting. This results both from generational changes and from growing flexibility and adaptability. The experience of the pandemic is also important, as it changed the way professional duties are performed and showed how quickly labour market realities can change,” comments Agata Naklicka, Regional Manager at Grafton Recruitment.
Employees who do not feel secure are more likely to think not only about changing their employer, but also about changing their profession. In this group, as many as 66% of respondents are considering such a step. By comparison, among people who do not fear losing their job or do not plan to change it, the share is significantly lower, at less than 40%, according to Gi Group Holding’s “Labour Market Barometer”.
This shows that employment uncertainty may encourage people to take a broader look at their professional situation. In this context, the development of skills that increase labour market flexibility and allow people to move into new professional areas is becoming increasingly important. According to forecasts by the World Economic Forum in its “Future of Jobs” report, by 2030 nearly 60% of employees will need to acquire new skills or reskill.
“Technological development is changing demand for skills. Some roles are losing importance, while demand is growing for new specialisations and competences. This means not only the need for continuous learning, but also acquiring new qualifications, and sometimes changing professions. Reskilling is no longer an exceptional situation and is becoming one of the ways to build professional security in changing market realities. This is confirmed by the declarations of people who do not feel secure in their current workplace — in this group, as many as 66% are considering changing profession,” concludes Piotr Wajgielt, Executive Manager at Wyser Executive Search.
About the report
The “Labour Market Barometer 2026” is the 20th edition of the report, which has been prepared since 2014. It was developed by Gi Group Holding experts based on research conducted by the SW Research Market and Opinion Research Agency. The employer survey was carried out using the CATI method between 25 February and 9 March 2026, while the employee survey was conducted using the CAWI method between 23 February and 3 March 2026. The report’s partners are the Federation of Polish Entrepreneurs, the Polish HR Forum and the Lewiatan Confederation.
Gi Group is an international employment and HR consulting agency founded in Italy in 1998. It specialises in recruitment and the employment of temporary and permanent workers, HR process outsourcing, training and HR consulting.
The Group operates in dozens of countries around the world, serving companies from various sectors of the economy. It has been present in Poland since 2007, providing recruitment, temporary work and career advisory services. Gi Group is one of the largest recruitment companies in Europe.
Wyser is a global recruitment company belonging to Gi Group Holding and operating in 12 countries. Its team of experienced consultants specialises in advisory services and recruitment for senior executive positions through Executive Search, as well as managerial recruitment. It supports organisations in analysing their HR needs, matching candidate profiles to expectations and requirements, and provides advisory support in building managers’ career paths.
