Government expects significant increase in unemployment in Poland

The estimated registered unemployment rate in January 2021 was 6.5 percent. This is 0.3 percentage points more than in December last year, the Ministry of Development, Labor and Technology announced.

“We can see the first negative effects of the pandemic on the labor market,” this is how Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Gowin commented on the ministry's estimates.

The preliminary data of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy shows that the number of unemployed at the end of January 2021 was 1.09 people and – compared to the end of 2020 – increased by 43,200 people, i.e. by 4.1 percent.

“Unfortunately, unemployment increased noticeably in January. Thus, the first negative effects of the pandemic on the labor market are visible,” Jarosław Gowin, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Development, Labor and Technology, commented.

As he added, in his opinion this is an argument in favor of accelerating the process of defrosting those economic sectors that are affected by restrictions.

The increase in unemployment in January, according to the ministry's translations, is largely due to the seasonal nature of employment. The ministry also associates it with the fact that at the end of the year the period for which the temporary contracts were concluded and the end of participation in activation activities expires. But there is another reason.

“This year, this was also accompanied by the restrictions introduced in connection with the pandemic in the field of running a business. If unemployment grows alarmingly, we will take measures to limit the negative impact of the closure of the economy, primarily on the labor market,”  Iwona Michałek, Deputy Minister of Development, Labor and Technology, said.

(money.pl)