Unexpected rise in rate of unemployment in July 2025
The Central Statistical Office reported that the registered rate of unemployment in Poland rose to 5.4 per cent in July 2025 in comparison to 5.2 per cent in June. That is unusual in the context of the seasonal labour market when unemployment usually stabilizes or declines during the summer. The number of registered unemployed exceeded 830,000 which is the highest level since the beginning of the year.
Experts point to two main factors for the increase. First, the economic slowdown and rising labour costs are prompting companies to reduce employment, especially, by terminating fixed-term contracts. Second, legislative changes concerning the operation of employment offices - in particular, the inability to deregister unemployed persons who reject activation - have meant that official data better reflects the actual scale of unemployment.