28 October 2016 in Warsaw. Polish candidates look to the future with optimism, a Confidence Index poll conducted by PageGroup covering the third quarter of 2016 has found. 56% of the surveyed anticipate a noticeable improvement of their professional status and situation in the labour market within the next few months. This means that Poland remains Europe’s third leading optimistic country, preceded by Sweden (66%) and Germany (63%).
Optimism slowing up, but we can still sleep tight
The survey points to a slight improvement of public mood in the majority of countries across continental Europe. In Poland’s case, its optimism index has remained almost unaffected, given the decrease by merely 1 percentage point. Although Poles rank the current situation in the labour market with a bit less enthusiasm (a drop by 6 pp to 64%) than before, two thirds of the surveyed (67%) still expect a change for the better within the coming months. Those showing the least optimistic attitude can be found among people aged over 49 (44% – a drop by 5 pp), with index rates (63%) peaking once again for those aged under 30. The Confidence Index for people in the 30–49 age group stood invariably at 56%.
On the way to growth and ... better pay
More than a half of Polish candidates (52%) seek new employment, because they wish to make good use of their skills and develop them further. It seems to be the most commonly given reason for wanting to change one’s place of work. More often than people living in other countries (37.7%), we point to our wages as one of the driving forces that pushes us to start looking for a new employer. At the same time, compared to the previous period, the number of people expecting a pay rise within the coming 12 months has gone up by 3 pp, reaching 54%.
The North against the South
Poland has been witnessing a drop in its unemployment rate for quite a long time. Following the estimates of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, it is clear to see that in September unemployment fell by 0.1 pp to reach 8.4%. According to Piotr Dziedzic, director at PageGroup in Poland, the propitious data coming from the labour market are reflected in the Confidence Index surveys. “Even if the level of optimism isn’t going up, it’s still relatively high. Given the current poll results, Poles appear to be right in the forefront of Europe’s optimists. Given the increasingly better employment data, there is a growing number of candidates who expect an imminent pay rise. In the next months, this may lead to a growing wage pressure,” he admits.
Less optimism than Poles, Germans and Swedes can be traced with candidates from the southern countries of the Old Continent. Still, the last months have been marked by a minor improvement of the public mood of that part of Europe. In Italy, Portugal, and Spain, the index stood at 36%, 40% and 43%, respectively, which implies a slight increase compared to the results retrieved in the previous quarter. The index has also gone up by 3 pp in France, whose populations are only a bit more hopeful and confident about the future than the Spaniards (44%).
About the Confidence Index poll
Confidence Index is a cyclical survey conducted by PageGroup in continental Europe that studies the public mood of those seeking employment in Poland, Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Holland, Sweden and Belgium. The poll measures the levels of optimism of the candidates confronted with the prospects of finding new employment, the expected duration of the search, the expectations of one’s own professional situation and the economic status of a given country, as well as the reasons that have made them change their place of work. The study is carried out online and covers the candidates that have applied for a job through the Michael Page website or the Page Personnel website. In the second quarter of 2016, more than 15,600 respondents took part in the poll, while in the third quarter two thousand more respondents got involved, including at least 660 surveyed Poles in each of these periods. The poll results are announced 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 offices in Warsaw, Katowice and Wroclaw. More info can be found at www.page.com.
Contact for the media:
Urszula Matej-Bil T: 602 240 259 E: [email protected]
