THE COVID-19 WORLD PANDEMIC VS. THE LABOUR MARKET IN POLAND

Abstract

The main purpose of the research and analysis was to show how the global pandemic affected the labor market in Poland. Selected labor market data before and during the global pandemic were analysed. The subjective scope of the surveys covered working people and those who lost their jobs during the pandemic (205 people). Data from the Central Statistical Office (CSO) were also analyzed. The pandemic caused many changes on the labor market, including: a decrease by over 204,000 the number of newly created jobs and an increase in the number of liquidated jobs by over 15,000 in 2020 compared to 2019. According to the respondents’ answers, in the face of the pandemic, over 73% of people were not afraid of losing their jobs, while almost 90% of people actually did not lose their jobs. Despite the difficult situation, almost 25% of respondents planned to change jobs, and almost 15% participated in recruitment during the pandemic. Most respondents expected stable employment, salary increase and development opportunities. In the place of employment, the scope of the company’s activity was changed, limited, suspended or closed in almost 2/3 of the respondents. Despite the barriers encountered when performing remote or hybrid work in this form, the employees decided that they also see the benefits of being able to perform part of their work at home.