Despite rising unemployment, especially in industry, logistics, and e-commerce, the labor shortage is not disappearing. A rise in unemployment does not automatically mean there is less work today. Unemployment in Poland has been rising in recent months. How does the TSL industry fare against this backdrop? Helena Rojbul, Recruitment, Legalization, and Administration Manager at the Opteamic Recruitment Group, provides commentary.
The latest data from Statistics Poland (GUS) show that unemployment has been rising for several months, while at the same time, many companies in the TSL, logistics, e-commerce, and manufacturing sectors, including the maritime industry, continue to face labor shortages. This is not a paradox; it is a signal of a profound structural transformation. Looking at this data, we first see a deterioration in the labor market situation. However, from an operational perspective, the situation is more complex.
In many sectors and industries, especially in industry, logistics, or e-commerce, the labor shortage is not disappearing. Here, companies are still actively recruiting workers for warehouses and production lines, while simultaneously limiting employment in other areas, such as operational or sales positions. Growing automation also forces a change in competencies within these industries. This is the essence of the bipolarity of the labor market: the simultaneous occurrence of rising unemployment and a shortage of skills.
GUS data show the scale of the phenomenon but do not reflect its structural nature. The differences between regions, industries, and skill levels are greater today than the indicators themselves. In practice, this means that the number of people remaining outside the active labor market is growing, while demand for specific competencies persists. The problem, therefore, does not concern only the number of jobs, but their alignment with available human resources. From the employers’ perspective, this means the need to change the approach to employment and the recruitment process. Increasingly, it is not about quickly “finding an employee,” but about matching competencies to changing operational needs. This increases the importance of flexible forms of employment, including temporary work, as a tool for stabilizing operations. For employees, in turn, this is a signal that the market is no longer predictable in the traditional sense. Employment stability increasingly depends on the relevance of skills and the ability to change them quickly.
Therefore, rising unemployment does not automatically mean there is less work today. It means, rather, that market needs and competencies are increasingly missing each other. We see this very clearly: in one part of the market, companies are fighting for employees, while in another, the number of people who cannot find employment is growing. This is not a cyclical slowdown, but a permanent change in the structure of the labor market.
Source: Janusz Mincewicz