Poland is one of the only three European Union (EU) countries with a decreasing unemployment rate in 2007-2014, Poland's Ministry of Labour and Social Policy reported Monday, quoting Eurostat figures.
At the end of June 2014, over 25 million Europeans were jobless. In 2007-2014 the EU unemployment rate grew from 7.2 percent to 10.2 percent, according to Eurostat.
Only three countries managed to reduce unemployment during the crisis, namely Poland, Germany and Malta, said Labour Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz in a statement.
In 2007, Poland, next to Slovakia, had the highest unemployment rate in the EU, but has managed to reduce that to below the EU average. In June, Poland's unemployment rate stood at 9.5 percent, below the EU average 10.2 percent.
In 2007-2013, employment in Poland increased from 62.7 percent to 64.9 percent. "This was the third-best result in the whole EU. Higher growth was only reported by Germany and Malta. Poland was ahead of countries like Austria, Switzerland, Hungary and the Czech Republic," Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
"Unemployment in Poland, after accounting for seasonal factors, has been decreasing steadily since November 2013. If nothing disturbs the economic upturn, this trend should also continue in the coming months," the Polish labor minister said.