Who Are They Looking for Work in Poland? One Profession Takes the Lead. There's a New GUS Report

Salesperson is the profession in highest demand for planned hires in 2024, according to the Central Statistical Office (GUS). Meanwhile, from January to March, specialists were the most sought-after professional group.

In the first quarter of 2024, national economy entities employing at least one person were looking for 411,400 employees. Plans for the remaining quarters included 525,500 positions. By the end of the year, 129,900 employees are expected to be laid off, according to the latest data from the Central Statistical Office.

Praca (zdjęcie ilustracyjne)Fot. Jakub Orzechowski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Most In-Demand Workers in the Job Market: New GUS Data

GUS reports that salesperson is the profession in highest demand for planned hires in 2024. However, from January to March, specialists (88,800) were the most sought-after among the major occupational groups. Right behind them were industrial and craft workers (87,900). Other large occupational groups in which workers were sought included machine and equipment operators and assemblers, as well as service workers and salespeople. Industrial workers, craftsmen, and specialists made up 43.2% of the planned recruitment.

Relacja liczby planowanych przyjęć i liczby planowanych zwolnień w okresie od 1 kwietnia do końca 2024 r. według regionówGrafika: GUS

Considering the number of planned hires and the number of planned layoffs, we can observe a predominance of hires over layoffs in all PKD sections. The highest ratio was in the Administration and Support Services section, where 9.9 hires were declared for every planned layoff. A high ratio was also noted in the Healthcare and Social Assistance section, with 8.6 hires planned for every layoff

- the GUS report states. A surplus of planned hires over planned layoffs was also recorded in all regions.

Andrzej Kubisiak, Deputy Director at the Polish Economic Institute, assessed that the job market is in better condition than is often portrayed in the narrative. "This survey is conducted every three years (unfortunately!). In 2021, we were in a different reality - an ultra-fast recovery after pandemic lockdowns - a very high baseline as a point of reference" - he wrote on the platform X.

Rising Unemployment in Poland

At the end of July 2024, there were 765,400 registered unemployed individuals at labor offices (compared to just over 762,000 a month earlier). This is a 0.4% increase from June and a 2.2% decrease compared to July 2023. In July, the unemployment rate stood at 5% (compared to 4.9% in June).