The beginning of the end of the employee market? Disturbing signals from employers

At first glance, the situation on the labor market appears to be stable. There are numerous job offers on popular advertising websites, and companies looking for specialists bid for employee benefits. You may get the impression that there is a real boom in employment. This is only one side of the coin. The second is the changes that take place with each passing month in many industries and entrepreneurs’ concerns about the next year.

Labor market. In September, there was a significant decline in offers for employees

However, experts have no doubts. Analyzes by Grant Thornton and the Element system show that the number of recruitment advertisements decreased significantly in September. In the last month alone, 35,000 people have been removed from the Internet. employment offers. We have one-fifth fewer job offers throughout the year. “It wasn’t even that bad during the coronavirus pandemic” – say labor market specialists.

A decline in the number of advertisements was recorded even in the IT industry. Last month, there were more than half as many job offers for IT specialists on the largest recruitment portals than a year ago. Not long ago, IT industry employees could choose from offers, but now they cannot believe when they see lower salaries in advertisements. There are also fewer orders from abroad.

IT industry. Employers are suspending recruitment. IT specialists do not hide their surprise

“The El Dorado for IT specialists that we have seen in recent years is coming to an end,” not only employees of this sector point out. – The IT industry is undoubtedly facing some cooling. A trend has reached Poland, which at the end of 2022 will affect thousands of specialists, for example in Silicon Valley. Some employers are conducting layoffs, some have introduced recruitment freezes, i.e. they have suspended all recruitment – says Maja Gojtowska, HR process consultant, in an interview with Wprost.pl.

In her opinion, employers, including those from the IT sector, are suspending recruitment for fear of the uncertain economic situation and high costs of hiring employees. Employee concerns do not end there. There are fewer and fewer remote job offers. Every month, there are more and more companies that change their employment formula.

Salaries. Some companies intend to reduce employees’ salaries

Subsequent reports indicate uncertainty in many other industries. The latest “Polish Labor Market Barometer” prepared by Personnel Service shows that every third company (36%) does not plan to increase the salaries of its employees next year. The study also shows that every ninth employer (11%) intends to reduce the salaries of its employees.

According to some experts, the percentage of companies planning to cut jobs is also worrying, despite the decline since the beginning of the year. Every fifth employer does not hide that they take such an eventuality into account. There is also a visible decline in demand for people with low qualifications.

Entrepreneurs’ anxiety. Many of them fear a recession

Employees in slightly more than one in three companies (39%) will be able to count on raises. This applies especially to specialists in large companies, especially in the TSL industry (transport, forwarding, logistics). The situation in trade will be much worse, where only every fourth employee can count on a higher salary.

“Entrepreneurs fear a recession next year,” say the authors of the study. Entrepreneurs of several industries are most affected by pessimistic moods. This concerns trade, services, the public sector and the catering and hotel industry. Employers are most concerned about the high costs of doing business, pressure on employee pay raises and the growing deficit. The authors of the study emphasize that as many as 70 percent companies indicate high costs as the main barrier to running a business.