The influence of the financial and economic crisis on the labour market in Poland

Abstract

The financial and economic crisis which started in the USA towards the end of the first decade of the 21st century affected the economies of all countries on the Old Continent, including Poland. In fact, a visible economic slowdown driven by global recession reached Poland in 2009. The consequences of the crisis-related phenomena have both micro and macroeconomic character. Regarding the first group, these are mainly a falling level of consumption and consumer adaptive behaviour, while the other group mostly consists of shrinking GDP, rising unemployment (mainly cyclical), more enterprises going bankrupt because of Forex options, problems affecting public finances, changes in consumption structure, deteriorating financial situation of households and changes in citizens’ lifestyles, as well as deteriorating consumer confidence. The article aims to analyse the consequences of decelerating economic growth on the levels of basic macroeconomic indicators characterising the labour market: labour force participation rate, rate of employment, employment structure by economic sector, rate of unemployment and average gross pay in national economy.