Unemployment in Poland has fallen to 2.9%, the second-lowest level in the European Union, according to new data from Eurostat. It is also Poland’s joint-lowest figure in decades, according to economists.
In December, the average seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate across the EU as a whole was 6.4% (down from 6.5% in November and 7.5% December 2020) and 7% in the Eurozone (down from 7.1% the previous month and 8.2% a year earlier).
Poland’s figure of 2.9% was the second-lowest, higher only than the Czech Republic (2.1%) and below Germany (3.2%), Malta (3.4%) and Hungary (3.7%). The highest unemployment in the EU was recorded in Spain (13%), Greece (12.7%) and Italy (9%).
Najnowsze dane @EU_Eurostat o #bezrobocie pokazały, że 🇵🇱 ma już drugi najniższy wynik w 🇪🇺 za Czechami.
Co ciekawe, podobnie jak w przypadku krajowej metodologi, tak i w europejskim zestawieniu odnotowano spadek bezrobocia w grudniu (co mam miejsce relatywnie rzadko) pic.twitter.com/KR0wsnMvZ2
— Andrzej Kubisiak (@KubisiakA) February 1, 2022
According to Andrzej Kubisiak, deputy director of the Polish Economic Institute (PIE), a think tank, Poland’s latest figure is its lowest since joining the EU in 2004. Marcin Piątkowski, a professor of economics at Koźmiński University in Warsaw, added that the figure was the lowest rate since 1989.
Various data have indicated that Poland’s economy has fared relatively well during the pandemic, and is now also recovering strongly. Figures from last October showed that the country had recorded the second largest increase in employment during the pandemic among all EU countries.
A study by the International Labour Organization published the following month placed Poland first among EU countries and second in the world in terms of rebuilding its labour market from the impact of the pandemic.
However, the latest Eurostat figures show that Poland performs slightly worse when it comes to youth unemployment. Its figure in December stood at 11.9%, which was higher than seven other member states. It was still, however, lower than the EU and Eurozone averages (both 14.9%).
Main image credit: Maxime Agnelli on Unsplash
Maria Wilczek is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She is a regular writer for The Times, The Economist and Al Jazeera English, and has also featured in Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, The Spectator and Gazeta Wyborcza.
