Government criticized for not spending enough to reduce unemployment

While the government estimates the 2001-year unemployment rate at 15%, the Polish Confederation of Private Employers is far more radical in its predictions, pegging next year's percentage of jobless at between 18% and 20%. According to Zycie daily, the money available to fight the battle against unemployment is not sufficient. This year just a little more than zl.1 million was spent on reducing the number of unemployed, while the National Labor Office (KUP) had to take out loans equaling zl.730 million to pay benefits for jobless. In the 2001 budget, the government wants to spend a mere zl.510 million on programs aimed at preventing unemployment. The Business Centre Club (BCC) believes that changes to the law are necessary, because current Polish regulations inflate the costs of labor as the number of unemployed rises. (Zycie, p.8)