Nearly 163,000 people registered as unemployed due to employer-side reasons in the first four months of 2026, an 11% increase year-on-year. The scale of layoffs is rising, with experts pointing to a shift towards scattered, individual reductions rather than large-scale group dismissals.
According to data cited by “Rzeczpospolita,” the number of job seekers who lost their positions through no fault of their own has been climbing steadily. HR firms confirm the trend, noting that the labor market is seeing a growing pool of active candidates who were let go in small, often unnoticed batches.
“We are observing a clear increase in the number of active candidates on the labor market, resulting from individual layoffs that are happening at various points in companies,” said Anna Tietianiec, a labor market expert at Manpower.
From group cuts to quiet firings
Fewer large-scale redundancies are being announced, but the total number of people losing jobs continues to grow. Piotr Kuron, career management expert and director at LHH, pointed out that “there are fewer big group layoffs, but more individual reductions that are not as visible in official statistics.”
This pattern — often called quiet layoffs — makes it harder for employees to spot the trend and for policymakers to react quickly. The process of finding a new job has also lengthened: specialists now need around six months on average, while managers may take up to a year.
Why companies are cutting back
Experts point to several drivers behind the wave of dismissals: rising labor and energy costs, weaker economic growth, and the accelerating adoption of automation and artificial intelligence. Many employers are choosing to reduce headcount in a discreet way to avoid reputational damage or legal complications.
The trend is expected to persist as long as macroeconomic pressures remain high and technology continues to reshape job roles. “The quiet nature of these layoffs makes them particularly unsettling for workers, who often do not realize the scale of the shift until they themselves are affected,” Tietianiec added.
Źródło: WNP.PL (based on “Rzeczpospolita”), Fot. PAP/Michał Walczak
