Companies control costs: raises more modest than a year ago

The year 2026 brings the first clear easing of wage pressure in three years. Only 39% of companies plan raises as part of the New Year salary review. More than half (52%) intend to keep rates at the same level. This is a significant change compared with previous years, when rising living costs and increases in the minimum wage forced more frequent pay updates.

The highest share of raise declarations is observed in the sectors of real estate and business services (53%), finance and insurance, and IT (45% each). Increases are also more often planned by companies employing more than 250 people (43%). In the structure of raise amounts, those in the 2–4% range dominate—declared by as many as 52% of companies. Increases of 4–7% are announced by 23% of organizations, while raises of 7–10% are rare (5%), and above 10% do not appear at all.

43% of companies currently employ workers receiving the minimum wage; nevertheless, as many as 65% of them declare that the minimum wage increase will not affect their businesses.

Holiday bonuses: frugal budgets, widespread availability

One element of pay policy is occasional bonuses. In the year now ending, employers most often focus on organizing company Christmas Eve gatherings (21% of indications) and occasional bonuses (20%). They decide much less often on gifts for employees and their loved ones (13%) or gift vouchers (10%). Even less popular are holiday meetings including employees’ families and charitable activities (2% each). Occasional budgets remain moderate—most often these will be expenses in the ranges of PLN 100–200 per person (21%) or PLN 200–300 (19%), while higher amounts above PLN 500 are declared by only every tenth organization.

If companies decide on financial add-ons, they will cover all employees: 97% of employers will pay bonuses and grant vouchers to all staff, and only a small percentage will limit them to most of the team. The amount of benefits will vary—half of companies will grant equal amounts, while the other half will set them depending on position or department. In the case of merchandise vouchers, 77% of companies will grant them at the same value to everyone, while 23% will differentiate their value by role.

– We clearly see that Polish companies have moved out of the phase of reacting to economic turbulence. Enterprises are subject to impulses from the rising minimum wage or regulatory updates to a much lesser extent than in previous years. Instead, they focus on predictability and expense control. This year’s edition of the survey shows that employers treat holiday benefits more as an element of image management than as a strictly motivational tool. Frugal budgets combined with broad bonus distribution indicate that companies prefer to guarantee a minimal gesture and preserve the symbolic dimension of holiday initiatives, but not create pressure to expand benefits in subsequent years—especially in periods of greater financial caution – comments Joanna Kolasa, HR Consultancy Manager at Randstad Polska.

The labor market retains resources: stable teams and limited recruitment

Hiring plans for the first half of 2026 confirm the stabilization trend—as many as 78% of companies declare maintaining their current number of employees. New recruitment is planned by only 15% of enterprises. At the same time, an improvement is visible in the level of downsizing. It is planned by 5% of companies—3 percentage points lower than a year earlier.

– Only twice in the more than 15-year history of the survey has a smaller share of employers (14%) planned to increase employment. This took place in mid-2010 (weak economy) and in the second half of 2020 (pandemic). Fortunately, we are not suffering from a pandemic, and the projected economic growth for the whole of 2025 is 3.5%, which is a result that should influence the creation of new jobs. However, companies’ recruitment activity remains restrained—firms generally manage to fulfill current orders using already employed workers and thanks to productivity growth achieved through better work organization and more generous provision of tools and technologies to employees. According to Statistics Poland (GUS), in Q2 2025 there were only 95.7 thousand job vacancies in our economy—apart from Q4 2024 and the pandemic period, there were so few last seen 9 years ago. However, the projected economic growth for the next two years is to be similar to that of the current year—so it can be assumed that employers’ potential to increase labor productivity will be exhausted, and this will gradually and slowly bring increased recruitment activity and greater job creation. We will, however, have to wait for that. Half a year, a year, or perhaps longer – assesses Łukasz Komuda, labor market expert at the Foundation for Socio-Economic Initiatives and co-author of the podcast “Economics and Everything Else”.

Large companies will be the most willing to open new recruitments (35% of indications), and by industry: the industrial and construction sectors (23% and 21% respectively). In turn, real estate and business services as well as trade are the areas where the dynamics of new recruitment remain the lowest: the creation of positions is planned there by 10% and 9% of enterprises, respectively.

The issue of the amount of these benefits looks different. Opinions are divided: half of companies plan equal bonus amounts for everyone, while the other half intends to differentiate rates depending on position or department. 77% of companies that decide on merchandise vouchers will grant them at the same value to all employees, and 23% will make them dependent on role in the organization.

Employers are building resilience — financial foundations remain strong

The financial condition of enterprises is clearly better than a year ago. As many as 75% of enterprises describe it as good or very good. This is an increase of 15 percentage points compared with the second half of 2024. Only 3% of companies declare a bad or very bad situation, and this share has decreased by 4 percentage points year on year.

By sector, the leaders in stability remain finance and insurance (88% good ratings), IT (81%), and industry (78%). The financial situation is perceived as weakest by the real estate and business services sector—7% of enterprises declare bad or very bad condition. The difference between the largest and the smallest companies is also strongly visible. Enterprises employing more than 250 people are 16 percentage points more likely to assess their condition as good than the smallest organizations.

– One of the most important conclusions from the latest edition of “Employer Plans” is the high resilience of enterprises to changing market conditions. As many as 75% of companies assess their financial condition as good or very good, with only 3% negative indications. Such solid foundations make it possible to maintain a cautious yet consistent employment policy. The vast majority of organizations (78%) do not plan any staffing changes in the first half of 2026, and only 5% of companies announce job cuts, which indicates a clear drive to protect existing resources. The data confirm that entrepreneurs today are focusing on cost stabilization, also in the area of remuneration. More than half of companies (52%) do not foresee pay changes, and raises are planned by 39% of organizations, with their level expected to remain moderate and in most cases not exceeding inflation. In this context, support for enterprises in managing labor costs will be key so as to maintain a high level of employment and not excessively burden their financial liquidity – comments Nadia Winiarska, employment expert in the Labor Department of the Lewiatan Confederation.

The economy slows down: companies between stabilization and cautious optimism

Stable financial results do not rule out caution in economic forecasts. In the first half of 2026, as many as 54% of companies expect stagnation in the macroeconomic scenario. These are cooler sentiments than those forecast for the analogous period of the current year. At that time, the level of optimism was 2 percentage points higher. At the same time, employers anticipate stabilization after the weakening from the second half of 2025.

Differences in the perception of market conditions are, however, very clear in sectoral terms. The greatest optimism is presented by the sectors of industry (32% of indications for growth), construction (26%), and finance and insurance (25%). The sectors that see the situation worst are transport and logistics, other services, and IT. Recession was indicated here by 28%, 26%, and 24% of enterprises, respectively. Stagnation is forecast to a similar degree by companies from all surveyed industries. Economic optimism rises with company size: 37% of large enterprises expect growth. In medium-sized companies this share is 28%, while micro-companies remain the most cautious, with only 15% predicting an improvement in market conditions.

– Economic stabilization, as forecast by employers, creates an ideal space for investing in human capital. Companies that use this time to develop team competencies will build a lasting competitive advantage. In the face of easing wage pressure, non-material organizational strengths—such as mentoring programs or clear promotion paths—are becoming a key tool for building engagement. We are observing an evolution of the labor market in which employer attractiveness is increasingly determined not only by the level of pay, but above all by the quality of organizational culture and real development prospects – summarizes Marzena Milinkiewicz, Managing Director of Randstad Polska.