Poland
Polish unemployment figures are deceptive
Classified Polnews
Warsaw, Poland October 7, 2006. The Polish government has released unemployment figures that show the lowest unemployment rate for Poland that has been seen in a long time. But the numbers are deceptive.
The unemployment rate of 15.3 percent equates to a total number of 2.35 million people who are registered as unemployed.
The Polish Government says that the reduction in employment rate is related to a "lively" employment market and as a result of European Union financed social work programs.
It is estimated that 1 million or more Poles have emigrated for work in Western Europe over the past two years.
If one adds back into the total number of unemployed the 1 million people who have left the country to find work elsewhere, the reduction in unemployment can be seen to be largely a result of emigration and not increased work opportunities in Poland.
Moreover of the 2.35 million people out of work in Poland, Polish unemployment offices report at least 1 million of them do not want to work.
And regardless of 2.35 million people in Poland registered as unemployed in Poland, employers in Poland find it very difficult to hire new workers. A report yesterday on Polish road construction that was aired on Polish television station TVN 24 included a section about a company working on Polish road construction that has to bring workers into Poland from Sweden because it cannot find Polish workers to fill job openings.
A recent survey showed that more than 50% of the Polish people under the age 24 want to emigrate to Western Europe.
There is a shortage of workers in the Polish labor market primarily due to emigration and the reduction in unemployment in Poland is also primarily a result of emigration.
In short, the reduction in unemployment rate as announced by the Polish Government does not reflect the facts on the ground. Theunemployment rate figures are deceptive if one tries to use them as an indication of improvements in the work conditions in Poland.
The emigration rate would probably be a better indicator, if it were possible to calculate.
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