Today's labour market: challenges and trends Part II

Last week we wrote about how today's labor market is perceived by employees in Poland and in what condition the national professional activation is, among others. In the article Today's labour market: challenges and trends, part AND We also presented how Poland compares in terms of unemployment rate compared to other European Union countries. Today we will look at people who (despite having a job) are looking for new job offers. We will also discuss how the labour market situation is currently developing in Europe and around the world. The analysis will be based on the latest report Labour market, education, competences. Current trends and research results (September 2025), prepared by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development.

AI and the labor market: is there really anything to fear?

In recent years, since artificial intelligence has firmly established itself in our socio-market reality, many predictions have been made about which industries will be most likely to be replaced by AI. While the atmosphere that accompanies these predictions has often been worrisome — especially in the context of the pace at which AI could displace workers — the latest data from the PARP report brings a little more peace of mind. It turns out that Since November 2022, the share of people employed in occupations considered most vulnerable to the impact of artificial intelligence has remained at around 18%, so it has not changed significantly (global data). This means that even in those industries, which were predicted to be automated the fastest, there was no sharp reduction in the number of employees.

Such data cools the hot atmosphere fueled by the media, as if the development of AI is about to replace human labor at lightning speed. Although this is a positive signal, it is worth remembering that the impact of artificial intelligence on the labor market still remains a significant and complex challenge that will shape the future of many professions in the coming years.

New competencies of the employee

One of the most frequently discussed topics in the context of the future of the labour market is the growing demand for new competences. The report identifies six key skills that are rated the highest in European countries.

1. In the first place was “Keeping company” - a skill that ranked at the top of the rankings in as many as 18 countries, including Poland, Germany, Portugal or Sweden. The next group is Diverse Digital Competencies related to online education, such as e-learning whether conducting training via the Internet. Their development accelerated significantly during the pandemic.

1. It is worth noting that these competences do not only concern the digital sphere, but above all social skills; group leadership, communication and relationship building. This is an interesting result of the study, which shows that creating connections and spending time with others can become an essential part of professional work or even a kind of service in the future, which reflects well the direction in which the modern world is heading.

1. Among the key skills are also “following current trends”In practice, the idea Lifelong Learning - continuous learning throughout life. The dynamic pace of change requires constant adaptation to new working conditions. Although it is often presented as a positive element supporting development and well-being, for many people the constant need to improve can be a source of a feeling of lack of stability.

1. The next area is care for health and safety at work (OSH), which is gaining new importance in the context of technological development. With the advent of new tools and work environments, there is a growing need for expertise in occupational health and safety.

1. Nor can we ignore the growing importance soft competences, such as interpreting the behavior of others, evaluating the attitudes of colleagues or coordinating communication in a team. The increasing demand for this type of skill indicates the value emotional intelligence and Ability to cooperate in modern organizations.

1. It is also worth noting that the demand for competences in Europe varies regionally. Skills that reflect local economic specialisations and professional traditions are being developed in individual EU countries. In Northern Europe, the emphasis is on technology and health care, in Western Europe, on the balance between digital, managerial and soft competences, in the South, on practical and service skills, and in Central and Eastern Europe - on technical and industrial competences.

Who is the person who has been looking for a new job the most in the last six months?

Although the level of employment in Poland remains high and the data indicate low unemployment (at least that is recorded), this does not mean that working people treat their current place of work as permanent. More and more of them are considering changing their employer or profession. According to the Labour Market Report, in the first half of 2025, 10% of respondents were actively looking for a new job, and another 45% were looking for other offers. This means that more than half of the respondents showed less or more willingness to change their place of employment.

Who are these people? Most often this employees aged 30—39 (12% are actively looking for work, 54% are looking for offers) and representatives of the younger generation - the so-called. Zetki 18-29 years old (11% and 51%). Among the professions in which rotation occurs most often, engineering positions are in the lead - 21% of engineers are actively looking for a job and 58% are looking at new opportunities.

On the other hand, when looking at industries, the most personnel changes were recorded in hotel and catering (42%), construction (24%) and healthcare, social assistance, telecommunications and IT (19% each). This is not surprising, as these sectors are often characterized by job instability, difficult working conditions or high levels of stress. It is worth adding that people most often looking for a new place of employment are usually employed on civil law contracts - contract or work (19% and 48%, respectively). The lack of guarantees of stable employment favors greater turnover and reduces loyalty to the employer. Although for companies such forms of contracts mean lower costs, one wonders if they are really profitable in the long term, after all, the frequent rotation of employees also generates real organizational and financial losses.

summary

Although the Polish labour market remains stable, more and more people are actively looking for new job opportunities. The PARP report shows that despite concerns about automation, AI has not led to massive job cuts. At the same time, the importance of soft, digital and social competences is growing - they will shape the future of work in Europe. Source: 1. https://www.parp.gov.pl/storage/publications/pdf/Rynek-pracy_pazdziernik_2025.pdf