More than seasonal factors appear to be behind latest fall in unemployment

Economists say that a seasonal improvement can be expected at this time of the year, but these alone do not explain the magnitude of the decline. "If only seasonal factors were at play, then the unemployment rate would have come down to around 20.2% or 20.3%," believes Iwona Pugacewicz-Kowalska, chief economist at CAIB Securities. Ryszard Petru from bank BPH-PBH also said that a 90,000 fall in unemployment would mean that there is an underlying downward trend, but he was cautious to add that two or three months of such figures are first necessary to prove that economic growth is translating into the creation of new jobs. (Gazeta Wyborcza, May 8-9, p. 28) T.J.