Poland’s unemployment rate remains flat so far this year, but lower compared to the same time last year and has the second lowest rate in the EU.
Poland’s unemployment rate stands at 5.5% as of the end of February, unchanged from January, according to a new estimate from the Social Policy Ministry. Compared to the same month last year, the rate is down 0.4 percentage points.
The total number of officially recognised unemployed Polish citizens decreased by 55,700 to a total of 866,100 at the end of last month according to newly published data.
Marlena Malag, the Family and Social Policy minister, announced on Monday that last time unemployment was so low was in early 2020; before the Covid-19 outbreak. “While in other countries businesses are still shutting down due to the outcomes of the pandemic, Poland is a leader with the lowest unemployment rate in the whole of the European Union. Only the Czech Republic has outpaced us.”
The apparent causes for this positive news are twofold: both huge support for businesses nationwide offered by the Polish government, as well as the job market being opened up to Ukrainian migrants “who fill the gaps caused by staff shortages, which allowed domestic companies to grow.”
(PAP / Radio Gdańsk)
Poland plans new seaway for terminal in Świnoujście avoiding German waters
The construction of a new seaway would be linked to the development of a deep-water container terminal in the Northern port city, says Deputy Infrastructure Minister Marek Gróbarczyk. “In this way, we get out of all cross-border agreements and, above all, environmental impact reports. Today this is the main tool [Germany uses] against the development of Szczecin and Świnoujście,” the Minister stressed.
According to the head of the Maritime Office in Szczecin, Wojciech Zdanowicz, the planned inland waterway will be 65-70 km long and 500 m wide.
So far, the German authorities have been in opposition to the construction of a container port in the city. Germany’s arguments are mainly focused on environmental issues, but according to experts, the studies commissioned by the German Green Party are of questionable scientific quality. To this day, disputes are still ongoing concerning the Pomeranian Bay border between Poland and Germany.
(Radio Szczecin / TVP Info)
Polish athletes win 7 medals at the European Athletics Indoor Championships
Polish athletes won three medals on the final day of the Championships in Istanbul to round off an impressive team performance. Although they finished 15th in the medal table, Poland, along with the Netherlands, achieved the most team podium positions – seven in total.
The 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held in Turkey from March 2–5, with more than 600 athletes representing 51 nations competing there.
Jakub Szymański took silver place in the 60m hurdles, while Piotr Lisek came second in pole vault. Adrianna Sułek and Ewa Swoboda won silver medlas in pentathlon and in 60 meters respectively. The bronze medals were won by the women’s 4 x 400m relay team, Anna Kiełbasinska in the 400m and Sofia Ennaoui in the 1500m.
Norway topped the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships medal table, with four gold medals and one silver, followed by the Netherlands, winning three gold, three silver, and one bronze, and Great Britain, winning three gold medals, one silver, and two bronze.
(PAP / European-Athletics.com)
The weather
Today will be a little milder than yesterday but with a high chance of rain and even periods of light snow. Gusts of wind are also due during the day coming in from the south. Daytime temperatures will see a high of 4°C or 39°F, with expected lows of -2°C or 28°F overnight. Tomorrow’s forecast is a mixed bag of sun, cloud, wind and rain showers at similar temperatures to today, but the windy and rainy conditions should have left the region by Thursday leaving just overcast cloud cover.
Thomas Rado
