“There is no offer whatsoever for people without jobs. This means it will get even worse. It is disgraceful. Donald Tusk has every one of these unemployed people on his conscience,” said Michał Wójcik, an MP from Law and Justice (PiS). The politician was commenting on the fact that unemployment has been rising month by month, while the government has taken no intervention measures.
Huge Increase in Unemployment in Poland
Unemployment in Poland has been on an upward trend since mid-last year. In June, the unemployment rate stood at 5.2 percent, an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to May. In July, it rose again by the same amount, reaching 5.4 percent.
In the following months, the pace of growth slowed – in August and September the unemployment rate increased by only 0.1 percentage points, reaching 5.6 percent, a level that remained unchanged at the end of October and November. In December, a slight increase to 5.7 percent was recorded. In January, the unemployment rate reached 6.0 percent, up from 5.7 percent the previous month. The number of people registered at labor offices rose to 934,100, compared to 887,900 in December.
PiS Politicians Warn: “It Will Get Even Worse”
MPs from Law and Justice (PiS) addressed the issue of rising unemployment during a press conference.
“Unemployment is rising. Between 2007 and 2014, when Tusk was in power, unemployment was high. In 2014 it exceeded 12.5 percent. During our government, we reduced that high unemployment rate to 5.1 percent. We invested primarily in Polish enterprises and saved jobs during COVID. Tusk has returned to power – unemployment is rising again,” said Jan Mosiński.
The politician pointed out that “Donald Tusk was a few days ago at the Stalowa Wola steelworks lecturing others – it is worth recalling that between 2009 and 2011, more than a thousand employees were laid off in one of that plant’s subsidiaries.”
“Where were you then, Mr. Tusk? The unemployed were left without any help from the state. When we won the election, we began investing in the Stalowa Wola steelworks. The value of contracts between 2016 and 2023 amounted to PLN 16 billion. How much did Tusk’s government invest between 2007 and 2014? Around PLN 300 million,” he recalled.
He emphasized that currently “there is a shock on the labor market – at the turn of 2025 and 2026, collective redundancies were announced affecting 100,000 people.”
“These layoffs will continue, because smaller enterprises will have to look for savings by reducing employment,” he assessed.
MP Michał Wójcik stressed that the Law and Justice (PiS) government “always made sure that the unemployment rate was as low as possible.”
“Thanks to us, Poland was among the EU countries with the lowest unemployment. We handed over the state in that condition to the December 13 coalition. We know that the number of unemployed has increased by 100,000. Donald Tusk has every one of these unemployed people on his conscience. He is responsible for the fact that these people do not have jobs. Instead of creating good conditions for jobs to be created, so that people can fulfill their dreams, he is chasing his opponents. Funds for activation measures have been reduced by PLN 1.5 billion. There is no offer whatsoever for people without jobs. This means it will get even worse. It is disgraceful that we are not talking about matters that may affect every single person,” he said.