Labour Market Insights in Poland: Unemployment Trends & Employment Promotion

Project Welcome to the business land, LT-PL-2S-190 LABOUR MARKET BUSINESS IN POLAND

UNEMPLOYMENT According to the survey of June 2018, the unemployment rate decreased as compared to March that year. A similar trend was also noted when comparing data with the corresponding period of the previous year. The number of registered unemployed in employment offices at the end of June 2018 amounted to 967.9 thousand people (including 533.7 thousand women) and was lower than that recorded at the end of the first quarter of 2018 by 124.3 thousand people (ie by 11.4%) and lower by 183.7 thousand people (ie by 16.0%) compared to the same period of the previous year. The highest unemployment rate was observed in voivodships: Warmi sko-mazurskie (10.0%), Kujawsko- pomorskie (8.9%), Podkarpackie (8.7%), and wi tokrzyskie (8.1%). The lowest unemployment rate was observed in voivodships: Wielkopolskie (3.3%), l skie (4.5%), Ma opolskie (4.8%), Pomorskie (4.9%) and Mazowieckie (5.1%). On the 1st of September 2018, it was registered 141,6 thousand unemployed in the country and they made up 8,2 percent of working age population. During August, 20,9 thousand unemployed applied the local labour exchange offices. Employers registered 37,1 thousand vacancies.

UNEMPLOYMENT According to the Act on the Promotion of Employment and Labor Market Institutions, the unemployed person is defined as an individual who does not pursue paid employment, is capable and ready to take up full-time employment, does not pursue education on a daily basis, and is registered with the relevant poviat labor office meeting the following criteria: - a person is 18 years old, with the exception of young graduates, - a person has not reached the retirement age, - a person has not acquired the right to a retirement pension or invalidity pension, - a person is not the owner of an agricultural property with an area of 2 hectares, - a person is not disabled to the extent not allowing to take up employment, - a person is not a detainee and does not serve a penalty of deprivation of liberty, - a person does not receive monthly income in excess of half of the lowest salary, - a person does not receive a permanent benefit or social pension.

LABOUR MARKET The role of labour market The state's tasks in the area of employment promotion, mitigating the effects of unemployment and professional activation are implemented by labor market institutions. The goal of activities undertaken by labor market institutions is to strive for: full and productive employment; human resources development; achieving high quality work; strengthening integration and social solidarity; increasing mobility on the labor market. Labor market institutions include: public employment services, Voluntary Labor Corps, employment agencies, training institutions, and social dialogue and local partnership institutions.Public employment services create employment bodies together with poviat and voivodship labor offices, an office servicing the minister competent for labor issues and voivodship offices carrying out tasks defined by the act. Voluntary Labor Corps is a state unit specialized in activities for the benefit of young people, in particular the youth at risk of social exclusion, and the unemployed up to the age of 25. Employment agencies are non-public organizational units providing services in the field of job placement, job placement abroad with foreign employers, vocational counseling, personnel counseling and temporary work. Training institutions are public and non-public entities that conduct non-school education based on separate regulations. The institutions of social dialogue on the labor market are organizations and institutions dealing with the labor market issues: trade unions, employers and unemployed organizations and non-governmental organizations cooperating with public employment services and Voluntary Labor Corps.

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT Unemployment is still affecting mainly young people. At the end of the second quarter of 2018, the largest group among the unemployed constituted peeople aged 25-34 years 276.6 thousand; their percentage share in the total number of the unemployed amounted to 28.6%. People aged up to 24 years constituted 11.8% of the total number of the unemployed. The majority of the unemployed registered at the labour offices were people with relatively low level of education. The two largest groups among the unemployed constituted people with basic vocational education and lower secondary, primary and incomplete primary education (respectively by: 25.3% and 27.2% of the total number of the unemployed registered at the end of June 2018). The certificate of completion of post-secondary and vocational secondary schools had 22.0% of the total number of the unemployed, general secondary schools completed 11.4%, while the graduates from tertiary schools constituted 14.1%.

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

REASONS FOR NOT RECRUITING YOUNG PEOPLE ENTREPRENEURS PERSPECTIVE Among the reasons for not employing young people which were most often mentioned by the entrepreneurs in quantitative research there were financial reasons. Furthermore, employers indicated other reasons for not employing young people such as: lack of appropriate qualifications or specific skills, practical preparation for work, experience, initiative and entrepreneurship, learning skills.

ACTIVE LABOUR MARKET MEASURE FORYOUTH

THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTHTO START BUSINESS The traditional source of business financing is a credit or a loan. However, leasing is one of the most common forms of financing a business. The subject of the lease may be movables as well as land or real estate. Moreover, for those willing to establish a business in Poland, there is a possibility to use assistance granted from funds from the state budget or from EU funds: o Funds from the labor fund, o Regional Operational Programs, o Knowledge Education Development operational program (European Social Fund).

SOURCES EY. Doing Business in Poland, 2017. Oeconomia Copernicana 2017 Volume 8 Issue 4, December PricewaterhouseCoopers UAB.Doing Business in Poland, 2017. World Bank. Doing Business Poland, 2018.

About the project The project Welcome to the business land (LT-PL-2S-190) is aimed at showing the border region youth that Business can be simple, if you have a good idea, some support from professionals and general knowledge on business processes. During its implementation, it is planned to organize business leader s competition and International Economic Forum and to activate partnership of project beneficiaries and social partners (schools, business companies, professional development centers). This training material has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this training material are the sole responsibility of PI PVC and Euroregion Niemen Association and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union. Total projects size is 49 973, 25 EUR. Out of them co-funding of European Regional Development Fund is 42 477,25EUR. This project is Partly financed from the European Regional Development Fund Interreg V-A Lithuania-Poland cooperation programme www.bonusLT-PL.eu