The latest data from Pracuj.pl shows that, in the first half of 2026, the Polish labor market was shaped by the increasingly widespread use of artificial intelligence, the implementation of new employment transparency requirements, and candidates’ growing awareness of how to manage their careers. During this period, companies posted nearly 400,000 job advertisements, while the market itself underwent a profound transformation - driven both by EU regulations and by a visible rebound in investment in the technology sector, which is regaining its former importance.
Key findings:
- 387,000 the number of job offers published on the Pracuj.pl platform in H1 2026.
- Approximately 62,000 active clients used the platform’s services - a record high.
- The number of submitted applications increased by 4.3% year on year, demonstrating that professional mobility remains high.
- 18% of all job advertisements were aimed at sales professionals.
- Demand for AI/ML- related skills in the IT sector increased by 111%.
- 65% of the latest job advertisements used gender-neutral job titles.
These market shifts are further supported by the technological evolution of our platform. In the first half of 2026, we rolled out new AI-driven tools and automation features on Pracuj. pl that completely redefine how users browse job advertisements. By personalizing job offers, introducing geolocation features, and implementing solutions that help candidates assess how well they match the requirements of a given role, it is now easier for informed career decisions to be made. This is a practical response to our users’ needs. It is becoming increasingly clear that AI is no longer an experiment - it is a natural element of both the job market and the everyday recruitment process. As a technology platform, Pracuj.pl has one ultimate goal: to facilitate rapid, thoughtful, and convenient connections between talent and business for both sides.
- says Rafał Nachyna, Chief Operating Officer and Member of the Management Board of Grupa Pracuj.
Most In-Demand Specializations and the Rebound in IT
The most important finding from the first half of 2026, however, is the IT sector’s return to third place in the overall market ranking. Its 12% share points to a clear revival in technology investment following a period of market normalization and greater caution in recruitment.
The New Reality of the Technology Sector
A Pragmatic Approach to Benefits in IT
Hyper-Personalization of Recruitment Processes
Candidate Activity and Preferences
The Situation of Entry-Level Workers
To help young candidates enter the workforce, Pracuj.pl launched “Project Grant: The Easiest First Step”, an initiative supported by its ambassador, Jakub “Patec” Patecki. With a funding pool of PLN 500,000, young people can take their first steps in the labor market with greater confidence, explore different career paths, and gain experience that will help them make informed decisions about their professional future.
What’s New in the Polish Labor Market in the First Half of 2026
One of the key legal changes is the systematic inclusion of periods of B2B self-employment and work performed under contracts of mandate in an employee’s overall length of service. Among other benefits, this may entitle employees to longer annual leave.
At the same time, the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) has been granted new powers allowing it to carry out immediate administrative reviews of civil-law contracts. The new administrative procedure will make it faster and easier to determine whether a B2B contract or contract of mandate is, in fact, disguised employment.
The first half of 2026 demonstrated that the labor market is becoming more transparent, with new technologies increasingly shaping the ways in which we work, recruit, and develop professionally. At the same time, candidates are managing their careers more consciously and making highly deliberate professional decisions. These three phenomena largely drove the labor market dynamics in the first months of this year.
- adds Rafał Nachyna.
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About the report
This summary is based on the internal data of the Pracuj Group, presen ting statistics of job offers posted on the platform between January and June 2026. The data in this summary includes all job offers published on the Pracuj.pl website during the period under review, visible to platform users as a single advertisement in one location. The presented data should not be equated with the number of recruitment projects offered by the Pracuj Group to its clients (employers), which consist of: job advertise ments (one or more within a single recruitment project) and add-ons that build reach and increase the number of CVs sent by candidates.
In order to increase the analytical quality and relevance of the reports, starting from the summary for the first half of 2023, the method of presenting data on specializations in the „Specialists’ Labor Market” reports has been changed. Currently, they include breakdowns of the share of listings by leading category, i.e., the one specified by the employer as the most important for a given job offer. Comparative data for previous years has been prepared according to the current method of data presentation. In turn, data regarding position levels present results by classifying each advertisement according to the lowest candidate experience level acceptable by the advertiser.
About Grupa Pracuj
Grupa Pracuj is a leading technology platform operating in the HR industry in Europe. The most important brands belonging to the Group are: Pracuj.pl - the largest Polish online recruitment website, Robota.ua - an online recruitment website operating on the Ukrainian market, eRecruiter - a Polish system supporting recruitment processes offered in the SaaS model, Kadromierz - a leading Polish working time management system, and softgarden - operating in the field of systems supporting recruitment processes (Talent Acquisition Suite) in Germany, also present in other European markets. Since December 2021, the company has been listed on the main market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange; it is a component of the mWIG40 index.