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Unemployment in Poland discusses the causes and measures of unemployment in Poland and strategies for reducing it.

Definition and measurement

Unemployment rates are reported by the Polish government statistical department, Główny Urząd Statystyczny (GUS, Central Statistical Office), and the European Union's Eurostat office. The difference in the reported statistics is due to adjustments that Eurostat makes to make the unemployment rate comparable across countries in Europe.

Trends

As of April 2014, Poland's unemployment rate has been reported as 13.5% (GUS) and 9.6% (Eurostat).

According to Eurostat data, unemployment in Poland has been constantly below the EU-28 average (since Poland's accession to the EU in 2004). At the same time, the unemployment rate in Poland has been higher than that in most other post-communist new EU members.

History

Unemployment appeared in Poland along with industrialization by the late 19th century. In the Second Polish Republic (1918-1939), unemployment was among the worst problems of the economy, particularly during the Great Depression (1929-1934). The number of registered unemployed jumped from 185,000 in 1928 to 466,000 in 1936; in 1932, there were 240,000 unemployed industrial workers, or one-third of the total in that field. One estimate suggests that a quarter of the labor force was unemployed in 1931; not only industrial workers but also members of the intelligentsia were affected.

The Polish People's Republic was officially characterized by nearly full employment, not accounting for unofficial hidden unemployment. Following Poland's transformation from a communist to capitalist economy in the years 1989-1990, unemployment sharply increased from the officially reported 0% to 6.5% in 1990, peaking at 16.4% at 1993, and then decreasing to about 10.3% in 1997. The unemployment rate then begun rising again until 2002, reaching a zenith of almost 20% around that time. It has dropped to 8.9% in September 2008, but then started rising again, reaching about 13% in the years 2012-2014. The unemployment raise in the late 2000s and early 2010s has been attributed to the global recession in that period.

Regional distribution

One of the characteristics of Poland's unemployment is difference between regions, with the eastern regions being seen as usually worse affected. However, data do not show a clear correlation with the Poland A and B ("rich west" vs "poor east") division. In March 2014, the highest unemployment rates were reported by the north-east Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (21.5%), north-central Kujawy-Pomorze Voivodeship (18.2%) and nort-west West Pomeranian Voivodeship (17.9%). Lowest unemployment rate was reported by the central-west Greater Poland Voivodeship (9.6%), central-north-east capital Masovian Voivodeship (11.1%) and the southern Silesian Voivodeship (11.4%).

Analysis

One of the elements behind high unemployment are inefficient labor laws making job creation difficult, and unduly protecting senior employees (aged over 56).

Entrenched structural unemployment is especially problematic in Poland, with 46% of the jobless being long term unemployed as of 2013. A 2011 report reported a 3.6% figure for the long-term unemployement for that year's total unemployment rate of 3.6%

Another problem is related to certain forms of temporary contracts, known as "junk contracts" (Template:Lang-pl) which allow employees to bypass labor laws, offer substandard wages, and little or no stability or social security. In 2010 it was estimated that as many as 27% of those employed in Poland may be working on short-term "junk contracts".

Unemployment in Poland is higher among the youth. It has risen to over 25% in 2011 and as of March 2014 is at 26.3%, and is higher than the OECD average of 16.3%. One of the consequences of unemployment being particularly high among the youth has been a relatively high rate of youth immigration to other European countries, estimated in 2014 as 2 millions (out of Poland's approximately 40 million population).

Unemployment remains one of the most serious issues facing Polish economy.

The unemployed are a group iat particular risk of being affected by poverty (see poverty in Poland).

Unemployment benefits

To get unemployment benefits in Poland, one has to register with the appropriate government office and demonstrate the lack of the possibility to be employed or to be professionally activated within the field of activities proposed by the said office, have worked for a total of at least 365 days in the period of 18 months before the day of registration. In March 2014 it was reported that 13.6% of the registered unemployed were eligible for the unemployment benefits.

References

1. For methodology of Eurostat, see . For GUS, see .
2. ^ "Unemployment - LFS adjusted series (une)". Eurostat metadata. Eurostat. Retrieved 5 June 2014. Cite error: The named reference "eurostat" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
3. "Główny Urząd Statystyczny / Obszary tematyczne / Praca. Wynagrodzenia / Bezrobocie. Stopa bezrobocia / Stopa bezrobocia w latach 1990-2014". Stat.gov.pl. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
4. "Poland Unemployment Rate". Ycharts.com. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
5. ^ "Warsaw Business Journal - Online Portal". wbj.pl. 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
6. Piotr Wróbel. Historical Dictionary of Poland, 1945-1996. Routledge. p. 2014. ISBN 978-1-13592-701-1.
7. Gavin Rae. Poland's Return to Capitalism. I.B.Tauris. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-85771-573-0. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
8. R. F. Leslie. The History of Poland Since 1863. Cambridge University Press. p. 171-72. ISBN 978-0-52127-501-9.
9. Frank H. Columbus (1998). Central and Eastern Europe in Transition. Nova Publishers. p. 76. ISBN 978-1-56072-597-8.
10. Edward Lazear. Economic Transition in Eastern Europe and Russia: Realities of Reform. Hoover Press. p. 401. ISBN 978-0-8179-9333-7.
11. ^ Miroslawa Czerny (1 January 2006). Poland in the Geographical Centre of Europe: Political, Social and Economic Consequences. Nova Publishers. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-59454-603-7.
12. ^ "Unemployment". Eures.praca.gov.pl. 2004-05-01. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
13. ^ Gavin Rae. "The Debt Crisis in Poland and its impact on society. Study". Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. Retrieved 02-06-2014. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
14. "Zasypanie przepaści między Polską A i B zajmie dekady". Money.pl. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
15. "Polska A i B nie przekłada się na polski rynek pracy". Rynekpracy.org. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
16. ^ "Miesięczna informacja o bezrobociu rejestrowanym w Polsce w marcu 2014 roku" (PDF). GUS. March 2014. Retrieved 02-06-2014. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
17. Łukasz Sienkiewicz (2012). "EEO Review: Long-term unemployment, 2012" (PDF). European Employment Observatory. Retrieved 02-06-2014. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
18. ^ "Protests mount over Polish 'junk' job contracts". Eurofound.europa.eu. 2012-01-09. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
19. ^ "Young, Under-employed, and Poor in Poland". Worldbank.org. 2014-02-10. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
20. "Poland Youth Unemployment Rate". Ycharts.com. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
21. "OECD Better Life Index". OECD Better Life Index. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
22. "Polska emigracja: ile na tym tracimy, a ile zyskujemy - Jedynka". polskieradio.pl. 2013-12-19. Retrieved 2014-06-01.

External links

• Template:Pl icon Stopa bezrobocia w latach 1990-2014 (Unemployment Rates in the years 1990-2014), Główny Urząd Statystyczny
• Skill shortages, emigration and unemployment in Poland - causes and implications

• Unemployment by country
• Economy of Poland