Socio-Economic Issues

Washington, D.C. Vice-Consul Pawel Bogdziewicz hosted a lecture featuring Chairman Krzysztof Czyzewski of the Borderland Foundation (BF) here at the Consulate General of the Embassy of Poland on February 3, 2006. The BF House is located in the small town of Sejny in the far north-east corner of Poland. Of consequence to its nearby and once fluid borders with Lithuania and Belarus, it has a well established mixed population of Poles, Lithuanians and Russians. The once flourishing Jewish population was exterminated by the Nazi Germans during World War II. But their Old Yeshiva and White Synagogue have been preserved and maintained and are now utilized for concerts, dramas and exhibitions.

Read more: Sejny On The Borderland

The report about unemployment released in September 2004 (the total unemployment was estimated at 18.9-19%) by vice prime-minister, Hausner, expressed concerns that more and more people remain unemployed even after one year - after this time period they stop receiving any unemployment benefits.

Read more: Unemployment among older and less educated people

Domination of one type of industry

Some towns and regions were dominated by only one type of industry or a heavy industry which underwent crisis in 90-es. Regions with heavy industry (Starachowice, Walbrzych - brown coal industry) or with one dominating industry, like for instance textile (Lodz area) or shipyard industry (Gdansk). We will write more about it in the following article about structural unemployment. Since the fall of the heavy industry there are regions where an unemployment reaches 30% and also there are towns (Warsaw, Poznan) were unemployment is very low. The fall of the industry is partly related to the old economic structure which was bounding all Eastern European communist countries into mutual dependence on one another, more about it in the next point of our analysis below.

Read more: Specific Features of Polish Unemployment

One third of all unemployed are less than 30 years old. Many employers are looking for people who have some experience but young people lack any work experience. The results of the research done during the last decade showed that the graduates of Polish high schools and universities are prepared well in theory but not in the practice. They are missing practical skills.

Young people have a hard time to find a job also a result of the demographic high. There were many kids born in the beginning of the 80-es, (their parents are a result of the after-war high birthrate of fifties). Now this generation is graduating from the high schools, technical schools and the universities and they have a hard time to find a job.

Read more: Unemployment among Young People in Poland