Figures from Poland’s Central Statistical Office (GUS) for the first quarter of 2002 show both growth in unemployment and the fall in industrial output slowing. Economists now believe the economy is stabilising and gross domestic product (GDP) growth will exceed this year’s government targets.

Poland’s economy experienced an all-out slump in 2001 with employment rising from 16.1% to 17.4% and industrial output turning from 4.5% growth in the first quarter to a decline of 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Unemployment grew slightly to 18.1% from 17.4% in the third quarter of 2001 to the first quarter of 2002, although the number of jobless remained the same throughout March and April.

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