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Employment down in Polish firms in April: stats office

20.05.2020 11:00
Employment in Polish companies dropped by 2.1 percent in April on average in year-on-year terms, while falling by 2.4 percent from a month earlier, the country’s Central Statistical Office (GUS) said on Wednesday, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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Meanwhile, average wages in Poland's corporate sector in April decreased by 3.4 percent from March, while rising 1.9 percent compared with the same month a year earlier, the state-run statistics agency reported.

The average gross Polish monthly wage last month was PLN 5,285.01 (EUR 1,160, USD 1,270), according to the statistical office.

The figures are for firms with more than nine employees.

One in four employees surveyed in Poland this spring by human resources firm Randstad said they were afraid of losing their job due to the coronavirus crisis.

The Polish government in March came up with a multibillion relief and stimulus package to mitigate the economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said that his government’s “anti-crisis shield” aims to deliver a massive injection of funds from state coffers in order to protect jobs, help the country’s entrepreneurs and maintain the liquidity of companies.

Poland’s parliament this month approved a measure to offer more support to the nation’s economy amid the coronavirus disruption.

President Andrzej Duda in early May outlined a plan for more aid to the unemployed, including a special allowance for workers who lose their jobs due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The Polish prime minister said last week his government was planning to increase unemployment benefits from PLN 860 to PLN 1,200 (EUR 263, USD 284) a month. He also promised an additional three-month benefit of PLN 1,300 for people losing their jobs during the virus crisis.

The Polish labour minister said this month that more than 3 million jobs have been saved throughout the country thanks to government efforts to shield the economy from the coronavirus.

A total of 19,569 people have tested positive for the COVID-19 disease in Poland, with 953 deaths from the coronavirus so far, officials said on Wednesday morning.

(gs)

Source: PAP