Poland's jobless rate dips in October

WARSAW — Poland's unemployment rate fell slightly to 8.8 percent in October despite the global economic crisis, according to government data released Wednesday.

The rate was down 0.1 percentage points from September. The Central Statistics Office said 1.35 million people in the country of 38 million were registered unemployed at the end of October.

The ex-communist country has seen vibrant economic growth in recent years, but officials say Poland cannot remain immune to trouble beyond its borders. Poland exports heavily to other countries in the European Union, such as Germany, that are already in recession.

The jobless rate in Poland has declined gradually since peaking at 20.7 percent in February 2003. Poland is the largest of the formerly communist eastern European countries that have joined the EU since 2004.

Unemployment has fallen thanks to the economic boom, but also because large numbers of Poles left for Britain and other rich western European nations in search of better paying jobs.

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