Polish candidates see a bright future of the job market

This comes as welcome news and reflects positively on the Polish economy which is slowly improving as GDP has risen 4.1% over the last year and unemployment has fallen by 1.6%¹.

These are the results of the Confidence Index by PageGroup. The index is indicative of how candidates of all ages and professions view their current professional situation as well as how they view the economy generally. Candidates were asked a range of questions regarding career development, salary, work life balance and their view on the current and future job market situation.

The results of the index reflect a positive trend seen throughout Continental Europe with many countries, including Poland, viewing the job market and indeed their current job situation optimistically. Although in general those who are older tend to be less optimistic, with 49% of candidates over 49 years old stating they are confident, the broader trend is that those aged 30-49 have more faith in economy and the job market and rank higher.

With the confidence in the job market more than 1 out of 2 (55%) job seekers in Poland are also looking for a job because they wish to build on what they have and develop new skills. An overwhelming 90% of those under the age of 30 think that their skills development will be better in the next 12 months and 73% of 30-49 year olds share the same positive outlook in regards to their skills development.

Candidates across the board tend to think that their work life balance will not get better. Only 30% of those aged 49 and over believe their work life balance will improve over the next 12 months, followed by those under 30 at 35%. Interestingly, only 27% of those 30-49 believe their work life balance situation will improve. Overall, the results are poor and beg the question: why?

Overall the results vary between the age groups, however, the overriding theme is that candidates tend to be more optimistic compared with their Southern European counterparts. For example, Italy, Portugal and Spain suffer when it comes to confidence ranking at 34 %, 39% and 40% respectively.

According to Yannick Coulange, Managing Director of PageGroup in Poland, “The Polish job market is very positive which reflects the views of job candidates. Furthermore Polish job candidates are eager to build up new skills and to develop existing ones when looking for new jobs. So overall we perceive a very ambitious sentiment. On the other end however their expectations (e.g. work-life balance, training, salary) remain reasonable as they are fully aware they will work longer and harder”.

The PageGroup Confidence Index measures the confidence of job seekers across Continental Europe including Poland, Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, the Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium. The study measures job seekers’ optimism about finding a new job, the likely duration of their job search, expectations about their professional circumstances and the economic environment as well as reasons for changing their jobs. The study is conducted online, with candidates who have actively applied for a job via the Michael Page and Page Personnel websites. The study covered over 13,300 respondents in Continental Europe in Q1 and more than 15,600 in Q2, including a minimum of 660 respondents from Poland each quarter. The study results are reported quarterly.
 

PageGroup is a worldwide leader in specialist recruitment which is listed on the London Stock Exchange (Stock Symbol: PAGE). Founded in 1976, it has been active in Poland through three key brands: Page Executive (executive search), Michael Page (middle to senior management) and Page Personnel (graduate and skilled employees). PageGroup has 152 offices worldwide including its’ polish office in Warsaw.