Was 2024 a Good Year for Poland?

It was a challenging year for Poland. The war in Ukraine continued. Inflation kept haunting the Polish economy. And inward investment across Europe has been dogged by difficulties in the automotive sector. But was 2024 a good year for Poland?

This week Polish Radio reported a survey together with pollster CBOS. The survey found that sixty percent of Poles believe that 2024 was a good year for them personally. More importantly, 53.2 percent of respondents thought it was a good year overall for their workplaces. The trend is not as good as a year ago but is still better than what it had been in the past.

Today we wanted to look at some of the things that happened in Poland in 2024. And how these things may have affected the job market in Poland.

Was the First Quarter of 2024 Good for Poland?

It started with a slow rumble, but steadily grew. The topic of artificial intelligence took off in Poland. Google reported a surge in users searching for information about AI on the search engine. Additionally, the story mentioned how 84 percent of respondents in Poland felt that AI would have a large influence on the workplace. A few weeks later PwC reported how 58 percent of Polish CEOs believed that Generative AI could help increase efficiency in the workplace.

The year was off to a good start. There was a lot of talk of technology. Both employees and CEOs were embracing it.

In other news inflation held high, yet Poland maintained its leading growth position in Europe. Unemployment continued to shrink leading to continued skills shortages on the job market. But there were still grey clouds, and a few companies continued to make layoffs. Heineken in Krakow was one of the standout companies in Poland. The company won two awards at the CEE BSC Summit & Awards 2024 for instance.

Was the Second Quarter of 2024 Good for Poland?

A new rumble was starting to take place by the end of March. The talk of returning to the office took on new emphasis with many global tech leaders also sharing their opinions. Some of them like Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin even came out of retirement in 2023 to show his support of the work from office initiative, and work on AI. In Poland the hybrid model appears to be the preferred choice. How would the debate develop?

In other news DHL won the large company category at the Great Place to Work competition. Sii Poland and Cisco came in second and third respectively.

Was the Third Quarter of 2024 Good for Poland?

Perhaps it was good for some whistleblowers, a few lawyers and HR people. But was the whistleblower act a success? Some market commentators suggested that there were plenty whistleblowers before the act was enacted. And, they feared, after the act was in place there would be likely even more.

It wasn’t such a great summer for InPost CEO Rafal Brzoska, his campaign against online hate hit new highs by reaching the international press. Reuters, Bloomberg, they all covered the story.

Intel, the big inward investment into Poland story of 2023, shook the market in September. The tech giant has held back plans to roll out a new plant.

But it wasn’t all bad news. Job adverts were finally growing in numbers. Some sectors were showing signs of recovery. The Managing Director of Manpower in Poland shared some convincing numbers. Things were looking up.

Was the Fourth Quarter of 2024 Good for Poland?

News of a recovering job market was just the start. The convenience store, Zabka, made its debut on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in October. It is probably the fourth largest listing in the history of the Stock Exchange in Warsaw. It was a moment for Poland to celebrate. Especially as Stock Exchanges across Europe struggle to entice companies to list.

All this was overshadowed by the U.S. Election results. Donald Trump hasn’t had the best track record with either Donald Trump or Radoslaw Sikorski, Poland’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. Closer to home these results had a bigger impact. Volkswagen in Germany has started to feel big tremors. Tremors that will undoubtedly have a knock-on effect on the Polish automotive sector in the very near future.

Going into 2025

There is a lot of optimism in government as Poland takes on the Presidency of the Council of the EU in January. However, one must remember that this goes on whilst the country is still geared up for a massive war with Russia. Not to mention ongoing challenges with inflation. Importantly, Fitch, the ratings agency, has highlighted some areas to improve. Poland needs to address the repercussions from significant rises in public wages, and high military expenditure before the end of inflation is in sight.

This is just a short summary of some of the more significant challenges that the Polish job market faced in 2024. And some of the more interesting anecdotes. It is not completely accurate or means to be. But, if you want to discuss it with our team, you can talk to the specialists at Verita HR who are all kept up-to-date on the most important trends to affect the Polish and global job markets. And they would love to discuss it with you.

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