“The unemployment rate for July in Poland is 4.9 %, the same figure as in June. However, the number of unemployed has fallen. At the end of June, there were around 820,000 people registered, while in July there were 811,000 people. Here we have a downward trend”, said the Minister of Family and Social Policy Marlena Maląg.

According to the head of the Ministry of Family and Social Policy, the upcoming economic slowdown will not have a strong impact on the labour market. In her opinion, unemployment may rise to the pre-pandemic level, when it was around 5.9%.

This is shown by the number of offers issued by employers. In July alone, there were 288,000, and the central database of job offers contains around 80,000 offers. “We still have an employee market, workers are badly needed”, said Marlena Maląg.

Both the June and July unemployment rates in Poland are at their lowest level in 32 years. The last time there were fewer unemployed people registered in the labour offices was July 1990 when it was 699,000 people.

Unemployment is at a much lower level than it was before the outbreak of the coronavirus, which shook up the labour market. “The decisive steps taken by the Polish government, the efficiently launched instruments of the Anti-Crisis Shield and, as a result, the multi-billion support for entrepreneurs, have protected jobs”, said Minister of Family and Social Policy Marlena Maląg in July.

The good situation in the labour market in Poland was also confirmed by Eurostat. The EU statistical office’s data published on 1 August shows that Poland is a country with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the EU. The unemployment rate, calculated in accordance with the definition adopted by Eurostat, was 2.7 % in Poland in June 2022, compared to 6.6 % in the eurozone countries. Poland thus ranked second, after the Czech Republic (2.4%), for the lowest unemployment rate in the EU.

Adrian Andrzejewski