Polish Unemployment Declining

This in Bloomberg today:

Polish Unemployment Rate Fell to 12.4% in June, Near 8-Year Low


Poland's unemployment rate fell in June to 12.4 percent from 13 percent in May, according to preliminary estimates from the Labor Ministry.

The number of unemployed totaled 1.896 million, a near eight-year low, the Warsaw-based ministry said today in an e- mail. The rate remained the highest in the European Union, according to national statistics figures.

The fastest growth in a decade, driven by domestic demand and investments, forced companies to boost hiring, while an increasing number of Poles sought work abroad, resulting in staff shortages in construction and the health-care industry.

The European Commission said on May 7 that unemployment may fall to 11 percent by the end of the year, while Deputy Labor Minister Halina Olendzka said yesterday the year-end rate might be below 10 percent if the jobless rate continues declining at the current pace.

A final report on June unemployment will be published by the statistics office in the last 10 days of this month.

Also this:

From Bloomberg today:

June 26 (Bloomberg) -- Poland's unemployment rate fell in May to 13 percent, close to an eight-year low, as economic growth picked up, the Central Statistics Office said in Warsaw.

The number of unemployed totaled 1.985 million, down 5.6 percent from April and 23.1 percent from May last year, when the rate was 16.5 percent.

Polish companies are boosting hiring after the economy expanded 7.4 percent in the first quarter, the fastest rate in a decade. Gross domestic product is expected to grow 6.5 percent this year, compared with 6.1 percent last year.