The end-2005 jobless rate for Poland, the largest of the 10 newest EU members, compares with an expected 8.3 percent in the neighboring Czech Republic, the second largest of the EU entrants

The end-2005 jobless rate for Poland, the largest of the 10 newest EU members, compares with an expected 8.3 percent in the neighboring Czech Republic, the second largest of the EU entrants. The Polish rate, which reached a record 20.7 percent in February 2003, slipped to 18.7 percent in November. Poludniowy Koncern Energetyczny SA Chief Executive Jan Krup plans to eliminate 600 jobs at Poland's second-biggest power producer next year, deepening cuts to raise profitability following Poland's accession to the European Union. The utility is one of a string of companies, including PKO BP, the biggest bank, national airline PLL LOT SA and Debica SA, the No. 1 tiremaker, that plan to cut staff in the coming year. The jobless rate will be around 18.2 percent at year-end, the government forecast in its 2005 budget plan, compared with 18.7 percent last month, the highest in the 25-member EU. Eight months after Poland joined the world's largest trading region, its $215 billion economy is growing more than 5 percent a quarter because of increased trade and demand for Polish food. That hasn't helped more than 3 million out-of-work Poles, many of whom have been jobless for three years, as companies recoup profits after an economic slowdown that ended in mid-2003.