Laura Žiaubrienė: What’s new on the labour market in Q1 2025
Work-leisure balance has surpassed salary for the first time, the growing number of candidates for board selection, tax turbulence and other trends.
What’s new in the labour market? As Laura Ziaubrienė says, this is a common question when talking to shareholders or company managers.
Here are some of Laura’s insights into the situation in Q1.
Global events affect business
Events on the world stage are already affecting Lithuanian businesses and influencing business decisions.
The planned turbulence in the tax environment in Lithuania is also adding to the tension.
🟡 Companies do the day-to-day work, but keep a close eye on developments and slow down hiring from a growth perspective. However, they are continuing their earlier expansion, especially towards Poland, Germany, Scandinavia and America.
🟡 There are no new large foreign investor projects and existing ones are waiting for clarity in the tax environment. Hiring workers in Lithuania has not been attractive for some time due to rising wages.
🟡 The number of Board candidates in the selection process continues to grow.
The importance of the balance sheet has overtaken that of wages
The Guardian reports that work-life balance was the most important factor in choosing a current or future job (83% of 26,000 workers surveyed in 35 countries), according to Randstad research.
🟡 Working conditions (83%) and salary (82%) are equally important.
Employees’ expectations of employers
Employee expectations in Lithuania remain the same: competitive salaries plus incentive package, development opportunities, culture, healthy emotional environment, hybrid working hours.
🟡 Employers’ expectations of candidates have reached a very high bar. Businesses are buying high levels of expertise and investing in managers with competitive salaries.
🟡 Universities have attracted students from abroad who are actively looking for jobs in Lithuania. It’s a good time for businesses to grow their labour market presence and keep them in Lithuania.
According to the Employment Service:
🟡 Unemployment rate as of 1 March: 9.2%
🟡 The number of women engaged in self-employment was two-thirds higher than that of men in this quarter.
🟡 In the first months of the year, the largest number of vacancies was in manufacturing companies. Service/service companies were in second place.
🟡 The digitised Career Centre “Karjeras” is launched. It offers excellent opportunities for students planning their careers, as well as for experienced labour market players.
