Polish employers still broadly upbeat about hiring prospects despite modest dip

2010-09-08

Nineteen percent of Polish firms expect to hire new workers in the fourth quarter of 2010, while 8% anticipate job cuts, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, an international quarterly study by the US employment services firm. This compares to 24% and 6%, respectively, in the previous quarter and marks a seven-point decline in the balance of employment expectations compared with three months earlier, to +11 points (the percentage of companies planning no changes to employment levels in Q4 rose to 71% from 68% at the end of May).
On a yearly basis, however, the result represents a six-point increase. It is also much better than in the three other CEE countries covered by the survey. By way of comparison, in the Czech Republic the balance returned to negative territory, while in Romania and in Hungary it was in the low single-digits.
All 10 economic sectors of the Polish economy covered by the study showed a positive balance of employment expectations, led by the public sector with an impressive +30 points, followed by manufacturing at +20 points. In the construction sector the balance was +11 points. The smallest balance was recorded in restaurants and hotels (+4 points).
The Polish leg of the survey was conducted between 15 and 28 July on a representative sample of 750 companies.
The publication of the survey’s results coincided with the release of preliminary data from the Ministry of Labour showing the jobless rate down 0.1 p.p. to 11.3% at the end of August, with the number of persons registered as unemployed down by 9,100 over the month.