Poland's unemployment lowest in EU, Eurostat reports
Poland's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate fell to 2.6 percent in January from 2.7 percent in the previous month, making it the lowest level in the EU, Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, reported on Tuesday.
The Czech Republic was the only EU member that enjoyed as low an unemployment rate as Poland in January.
According to Eurostat, the number of the unemployed in Poland dropped to 464,000 in January from 474,000 in December 2024.
Spain, in January, recorded an unemployment rate of 10.4 percent, the highest in the European Union. It was followed by Sweden with 8.9 percent, while both Greece and Finland, the countries with the third and fourth highest unemployment rate, both reported figures of 8.7 percent.
Across the EU, the unemployment rate reached 5.8 percent in January, unchanged from the previous month.
According to Poland's statistical office (GUS), the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage points month on month in January to 5.4 percent.
The discrepancy between GUS and Eurostat figures results from the use of different methodologies. Poland's GUS reports on all unemployed people registered at labour offices, including those not currently looking for work, while Eurostat only takes into account active job seekers.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk took to social media to express his satisfaction with the latest data.
"Poland has the lowest unemployment in the European Union!" Tusk wrote on the X platform on Tuesday. "In these difficult times, every good news is invaluable." (PAP)
jd/jch
