A steady market
The professional job market in Poland looks promising; in fact few European markets are faring better. The latest global snapshot, the quarterly survey carried out by Antal in 47 key employment markets around the world, found that 58% of companies were currently hiring at this level and 52% expected to do so over the coming quarter.
Despite being predicted to fall in the last survey conducted in December 2011, recruitment rates in Poland have steadily risen once again. The Snapshot suggests that this will drop slightly over the next three months, but only time will tell if this is case given anecdotal evidence of confidence amongst employers. Firing levels in Poland have also stayed attractively low during the first quarter of 2012. At present, just 16% of Polish companies are downsizing their workforce and only 15% are planning to do so over the next three months.
Poland’s real GDP growth rate in 2011 was 4.3% and unlike many other European countries, the Polish economy has not entered a recession. Contributing factors to the country’s comparatively solid position include a strong domestic market, low private debt and the fact it is outside of the single currency.
Luxury living
As with many post-communist countries, there is a growing trend in Poland for the acquisition of luxury goods – and as a result employment prospects in the sector are increasing. Polish citizens are now richer than ever before and this improved quality of life has made luxury goods more accessible.
KPMG’s latest research report on Poland’s luxury consumer goods market has found that the sector has grown by 50 percent since 2005. And although the accessibility of luxury brands has improved over the course of the past year, nearly a third of brands recognised as luxurious are still not available in Poland. This shows the potential for employment opportunities in the market to continue to grow, and manufacturers and suppliers of luxury goods will be likely to take advantage of this opportunity.
Share and share alike
As with many other countries in Eastern Europe, the shared services sector in Poland is booming. 85% of employers are currently hiring at top levels and 74% expect to hire at this level in the coming quarter. The reduced costs that shared services bring are an attractive proposition for businesses and as a result, the demand for Business Process Outsourcing and Shared Service Centers is growing.
High demand for technology professionals
Since the early 1990s there has been a comparatively large and ever growing IT industry in Poland, which includes native companies as well as foreign owned firms with independent Polish operations. Established companies such as Asseco Poland, Ericpol Telecom and Comarch are performing well. The success of these organisations may well be due to the higher standard of service offered as a result of investment in IT. Polish based Comarch for example, provides various IT solutions across many industry sectors. They employ 3,500 staff worldwide and have a yearly revenue stream of over $211 million. High profile clients include T-Mobile, BP Global, Citibank and Coca-Cola as well as the Polish Government and the National Bank of Poland.
Our Snapshot found that 63% of software companies are currently hiring at managerial level and 60% are expecting to hire at this level next quarter – Just 12% of software firms in Poland are currently downsizing. As well as the established technology companies, there are many new companies starting up which may offer further opportunities for growth in the area.
Polish professionals' prospects look promising
It appears that Poland offers plenty of opportunities for forward thinking managers and professionals with the right skills and experience. Although the unemployment rate has stabilised at around 10%, this is showing no signs of increasing and specialists and managers can expect to earn on average £1780 a month. Despite the global and European economic crisis, the job market in Poland seems resilient. Once again, hiring levels have surpassed our expectations and the signs are positive that this upswing will continue.