School-leavers hardest hit as unemployment rate reaches 18% in January

The rate of unemployment reached 18% in January, which means over three and a quarter million people are now out of work, the Central Statistical Office (GUS) reported yesterday. The 140,000 increase from December in the number of unemployed has surprised even the most pessimistic analysts. "To make things worse, the 18% is a slightly misleading calculation. If we add all those entitled to receive pre-retirement benefits, the number would increase by 483,000," commented GUS president Janusz Witkowski. The structure of the unemployed population is also changing, with joblessness among school-leavers growing particularly fast. The rate exceeds 41% among those aged 15 to 24. The only positive news is the increased number of jobs on offer, which has almost doubled. (Gazeta Wyborcza, pp. 1, 23, 25; Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, A2, A5) M.K.