This is not a good year to talk about pay rises. Disappointing research conclusions

The study conducted by SW Research on behalf of Gi Group Holding shows that employers are still cautious in making recruitment decisions. Only less than 13 percent surveyed enterprises plan to increase employment, and pay rises, more often than before, are determined by raising the minimum wage and attempts to counteract turnover.

– The results of our “Labor Market Barometer” regarding employment are similar to those from recent years. Fewer companies plan to increase employment, the same number want to maintain its level, but a larger percentage of companies intend to do it through active recruitment. The labor market is slowly recovering – the first quarter of the year is always quieter in terms of recruitment than the subsequent ones. Caution may also be due to the difficult experiences of recent years and ongoing uncertainty about the future. Declarations of large companies and others are encouraging from the industrial sector – 18.2 percent of them want to increase employment in the near future, fewer of them planned to do so a year ago, 12.6 percent. companies – explains Marcos Segador Arrebola, Managing Director of Gi Group Holding in Poland.

Work can be difficult. Only every eighth company wants to employ

Last year was a period of cost and process optimization in many industries, also in the area of ​​recruitment. A survey conducted by Gi Group Holding shows that companies are still cautious in making business decisions. Only every eighth (13%) employer declares plans to increase employment in the next quarter. A total of 78 percent predict that the current number of employees will be maintained. employers – 58 percent hopes to do this without recruiting new employees, and 20 percent allows for the need to employ new people. However, 5% of entrepreneurs plan to reduce the number of teams.

Increasing employment in the coming quarter is declared primarily by companies employing more than 250 people (16%), from the industrial sector (18%), and operating in the south-western region (nearly 45%).

– The second half of 2023 was characterized by greater caution among employers when deciding to increase employment. This makes employers' actions in the next quarter of 2024 even more interesting. In light of the study, every eighth employer declared an increase in employment levels, and 78% of companies plan to maintain it. This confirms that the situation on the labor market remains stable, but with limited new investments –comments Robert Lisicki, Director of the Labor Department of the Lewiatan Confederation.

Pay raises for whom?

Just like last year, 60 percent companies maintained salaries at the current level during the past quarter, and almost every third organization (29%) decided to raise salaries. Similarly to 2023, 2 out of 3 companies (59%) have no plans to increase the level of remuneration in the next quarter, and every fourth company plans to increase it. However, it is noteworthy that the percentage of companies that still do not have specific plans in this area increased by as much as 10 percentage points.