Initial data of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy imply that in October this year the unemployment rate amounted to: 5.7 percent. It has been the lowest rate for 28 years. In the last month exactly 938.5 thousand persons were entered into registers of the unemployed.

- The situation is dynamic. We more often hear about needs of employers, who have difficulty finding appropriate candidates. Therefore, the role of employment offices changes. The purpose of our meeting is to establish a model of operation, in which the cooperation between employers and employment offices will be more effective – said the Vice Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy, Stanisław Szwed.

The Wednesday meeting organised at the Ministry of Family was attended by representatives of voivodeship and poviat employment offices and organisations representing employers’ interests. The meeting was dominated by the discussion on returning the long-term unemployed and the professionally passive to the labour market.

Unused potential

- We can regain approximately 2 million professionally passive persons – said the Director of the Poviat Employment Office in Nysa, Małgorzata Pliszka, referring to the last year research conducted by Work Service. – The number should be added with persons who are entered into registers of the unemployed. Some of them are persons over 50 years of age, mainly women. We do not use their potential to the fullest. We often have to convince employers for a long time to employ older employees, they also return to our registers the most often – added Małgorzata Pliszka.

Moreover, Pliszka drew attention to a phenomenon of the so-called internal employee migration, when candidates move to other cities and towns in search for a job. – The demand for particular professions and competences in regions is varied. A person interested in migrating to other town/city should find out, where employees with their competences are searched for and obtain information on the costs of renting an apartment or availability of schools and preschools. We do not have this knowledge in offices – says the Director of the employment office in Nysa.

Monika Fedorczuk, the Labour Market Expert at the Polish Confederation Lewiatan spoke along the same lines. – A certain problem in discussions on the labour market is that we use a standardised concept of an employer and the labour market. And they are different. Companies from e.g. Poznan, where the unemployment rate is 1.3 percent have different needs than other towns where one large company operates. While discussing employers’ needs we should take into consideration that each of them is different and operates in different markets – said Fedorczuk.

Bigger mobility

Whereas, Zbigniew Żurek from Business Centre Club believes that we should reach for employees from abroad more decidedly. – Please consider, how the country could help in bigger mobility of employees – said Zbigniew Żurek from Business Centre Club.

Marzanna Skoczek, the Director of the Poviat Employment Office in Grójec informed that only in this year farmers and orchardists from the poviat submitted approx. 50 thousand applications for seasonal work permits for foreigners.

- We are the poviat, which registers the most of those applications, the vast majority concerns citizens of Ukraine – said Marzanna Skoczek.

She also drew attention to a slightly different aspect. – Employers, who turn to an employment office usually offer minimum wage to candidates. At those rates it is difficult to find persons willing to work – added Skoczek.

European Employers’ Days

The Wednesday meeting at the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy was held within the European Employers’ Days which will last until 16 November. Similar events are also held in regions. Voivodeship and poviat employment offices are planning to organise, among others: job fairs, open days, meetings and consultations with employers, conferences, seminars, discussion panels, workshops, information campaigns and visits at employers.

Photos from the meeting.