After a very good end to the year in trade, industry and labor market, today's CSO data on GDP also proved better than market expectations. We are particularly pleased with the solid growth in consumption, quarter-on-quarter acceleration in investments, mainly private, and the good performance of industry.

We estimate that in Q4 of last year GDP was 7.1% higher than a year ago and as much as 4.5% higher than before the pandemic. The Polish economy has thus made up for the losses incurred in 2020 and once again confirms its resilience to shocks. We have a competitive economy that offers attractive jobs and is steadily increasing its share of global trade.

The very good performance of the Polish economy throughout 2021 was influenced by the rapid recovery of activity, which is particularly visible in industry, where value added in 2021 increased by 14.1%. Industrial production in Poland recorded the second best result among EU countries at the end of last year. The PMI index, which rose to 56.1 points in December, has remained above the 50-point threshold for 18 months in a row, indicating continued industrial growth. Also the January reading of the Monthly Sentiment Index (110 points)  is also above 100 points, which confirms the optimistic moods of Polish industry.

Last year was also a record year in terms of the inflow of new investments within the Polish Investment Zone.  As many as 713 decisions were issued to support investments with a total value of 37.1 billion PLN, with a simultaneous declaration of creating 16,831 new jobs. As of January 1st 2022, we also recorded 2.580 million active businesses (JDG) in the CEIDG register. This is over 50 thousand more than a year ago. Good data is also coming from the labour market. In November the unemployment rate in Poland was one of the three lowest in the EU (3% against 6,5% on average in the EU). In December last year, the number of unemployed registered in labour offices fell for the first time since the 1990s, compared to the previous month.

In the Ministry of Development and Technology, we estimate that GDP growth should be close to 4.4% in 2022. We also expect investment to recover, especially on the corporate side.