Polish unemployment may rise by 1 percentage point says minister

In the assumptions for next year's budget, the Polish government forecasts unemployment to grow by 1 percentage point, the minister for family and social policy has said.

Marlena Malag was asked on public radio on Wednesday whether unemployment would remain at its current level. On Tuesday, she said August's jobless rate stood at 4.9 percent, the third successive month in which unemployment had been at a record low.

"It's a typical summer drop in unemployment," Malag said, adding that the rate was the lowest in 32 years.

"In our estimation, in monitoring and in the provisions of next year's budget, we indicate that the unemployment rate might grow, but it will not be a drastic growth," the minister went on. "If the situation develops as at present, we estimate one percentage point growth."

Minister Malag was also asked whether an expected economic downturn would lead to a rise in unemployment. "Today, in absolute numbers, there are 808,000 unemployed people. Employers have an obligation to announce group layoffs, but we're not seeing such mass phenomena or signals."

Asked whether that meant the "plague of unemployment" had been beaten, Malag replied: "At the moment, we can really say so."