Gig Work Index for Q4 2026
End-of-year recruitment surge. As many as 70% of companies in Poland plan to hire temporary workers
Nearly 3 out of 4 Polish companies intend to reach for additional support in the last quarter of 2026. At the same time, there are fewer people willing to earn extra money than in other periods of the year. However, pupils and students will be more active in the temporary job market than a year ago.
The Gig Work Index for Q4 2026, prepared by the instant staffing agency Tikrow, clearly indicates that the end of the year is associated with looking for employees who will help during the peak season and with increased demand during the Christmas period. As many as 70% of the companies that took part in the survey admit that they plan to hire gig workers in the final months. This is 5 percentage points more than in the third quarter and exactly the same result as a year ago.
The greatest demand for additional hands to work is visible in the production sector – 79% of companies in this industry will be looking for employees (an increase of 7 percentage points compared to Q3). Retail and logistics enterprises will also increase their demand for employees – although to a lesser extent – 65% admitted that they plan additional recruitment for the end of the year (2 percentage points and 4 percentage points more than in Q3, respectively).
– For companies, the rising costs of employment remain the biggest challenge. They are the most common reason for reaching for temporary workers. This is admitted by 43% of companies. This is a slight increase compared to the previous quarter, but it shows an ongoing trend that cost pressure makes companies look for alternative employment models – says Krzysztof Trębski, President of Tikrow.
Poles and gig work
17% of Poles declare that they plan to take up gig work in the last months of the year. This is a decrease of 2 percentage points compared to the third quarter, but a slight increase compared to the previous year – by 1 percentage point.
However, a significant difference is visible in the indicated reasons for wanting to earn extra money. As many as 52% of respondents cite the high costs of living and maintenance as the reason – this is a clear increase compared to the corresponding period of the previous year – by 7 percentage points, and an increase compared to the previous quarter – by 4 percentage points. The same number of respondents indicated the need for money for additional expenses (although a decrease of as much as 17 percentage points year-on-year was recorded here).
Pupils and students are more willing to plan to earn extra money in the final months than a year ago – this is an increase of as much as 8 percentage points (31% of indications in 2026 compared to 23% in the previous year).
Student Cost Index 2026
Tikrow also conducted a survey in its application regarding the cost of living of students at the beginning of the new academic year. 79% of them indicated that their parents help them with daily maintenance (an increase of 2 percentage points year-on-year). The same number of people expect expenses to increase, and more than half indicated that this would be an increase of 10–20% compared to the previous academic year.
The survey among students shows that the largest group (29%) spends between PLN 2,000 and PLN 3,000 per month on their maintenance. For 24%, the amount sufficient to cover monthly expenses is PLN 1,500–2,000, and for 13% – from PLN 3,000 to PLN 4,000. These expenses include the cost of accommodation, travel, or food. Every tenth respondent indicated an amount of up to PLN 1,000 per month, and 7% – PLN 4,000 and more.
