The unemployment rate reported by the Central Statistical Office (GUS) – this refers to registered unemployment, which is calculated based on data from Labor Offices. Currently, this rate stands at 5%. At the same time, the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) provides its own data, indicating that the unemployment rate in Poland remains around 3%. This figure is lower than the registered unemployment data. Eurostat’s data is considered more reliable because it excludes individuals who register as unemployed solely to receive social or healthcare benefits or unemployment allowances.
There are concerns that the unemployment rate might rise, as media reports highlight company restructurings and collective redundancies. However, collective redundancy reports are often spread over several years – this is part of a formal procedure that applies to medium and large companies. Moreover, not all individuals reported for collective redundancies necessarily lose their jobs.
“One could say that since the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate in Poland has remained at very low, sometimes even historically low levels, and this trend has been fairly consistent,” said Andrzej Kubisiak, Deputy Director of the Polish Economic Institute, in an interview with eNewsroom.pl during EFNI 2024. “Regarding restructurings, a maximum ceiling for layoffs is always reported. For example, data from 2023 shows that while 32,000 people were reported for collective redundancies, only 17,000 actually lost their jobs.”
“In August 2024, GUS published an interesting study regarding companies’ recruitment and redundancy plans until the end of the year. This data covered all businesses, from the smallest to the largest. Recruitment plans exceeded redundancy plans by more than four times. Therefore, from a macroeconomic labor market perspective, no collapse is expected. Of course, the situation may vary in individual regions or counties. For instance, if a local employer closes down and is the only source of employment in the area, the situation will be drastically different compared to large metropolitan areas, agglomerations, or highly urbanized regions,” analyzed Andrzej Kubisiak.
Source: https://managerplus.pl/bezrobocie-w-polsce-utrzyma-sie-na-niskim-poziomie-19980
