Steady-state unemployment in Poland

After height years of systemic change, the job situation in Poland seems paradoxical. Despite robust growth in the GNP (more than 5 % a year), unemployment has stayed higher than in other Central European lands. Unlike in Poland however, the size of the labour force in these other countries has strongly decreased since the beginning of systemic change. Moreover, between 1992 and 1996, steady-state, long-term unemployment has, according to estimates presented herein, fallen from 12,5 % to 10 %. It tends to approach the actual rate (12 % in 1996). If these estimates are exact, short-term economic policies for stimulating demand will not effectively reduce unemployment; and, therefore, long-term measures are needed.