Tragic state of Poland's employment structure is holding EU back

Only 53.8% of Poles of working age are employed. This is the worst result among 25 states of the future, enlarged EU. If the government fails to launch new radical reforms, because of Poland, the union might not reach the level of the U.S. economy by 2010, as the 15 member states intended. In coming years the situation might further deteriorate in many sectors, such as agriculture, coal mining, steel, and railways - states the European Commission in yesterday's published report on the labor market of candidate countries. Of those of working age 19.2% are employed in the countryside, which is considerably large in relation to the EU average of 4.2%. In industry the productivity of a Polish worker is only 45% of his EU cou nterpart. On joining the EU, Polish companies in order to survive, must be as competitive as foreign ones, as customs duties will be removed opening the country to the full force of competition from the single market. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A3) A.C.