The reading was slightly better than forecast by analysts, who had expected an increase of 0.6 percent, Poland’s PAP news agency reported.
In month-on-month terms, Polish industrial production in January was 5.1 percent lower than in December, according to the Central Statistical Office.
The latest batch of economic data came after the state-run statistics agency reported on Wednesday that employment in Polish companies dropped by 2 percent in January on average in year-on-year terms as the economy struggles to recover from a coronavirus slump.
According to the European Union’s Eurostat statistics agency, which uses a different methodology, industrial production in Poland rose by 6.1 percent in December, the second-fastest rate in the 27-nation bloc.
The Polish Prime Minister’s Office has said that some 6 million jobs have been saved around the country thanks to measures including a massive relief and stimulus package that aims to shield the economy from the coronavirus.
The Polish economy contracted by 2.8 percent in 2020 amid the coronavirus crisis, according to an estimate released by the Central Statistical Office (GUS) at the end of last month.
(gs/pk)
Source: PAP