As expected, Poland's registered unemployment rate rose in January. Statistics office GUS said on Monday that the figure was 14.2 percent, compared with 13.4 percent in December 2012. The number of unemployed persons was 2,295,700. Some 317,900 of them registered at labor offices in January.

The unemployment rate according to the methodology used by Eurostat and the International Labour Organisation was 10.1 percent in Q4 of 2012, compared with 9.9 percent in the third quarter.

Commenting on the data BZ WBK economists said they expect unemployment to increase further during next few months and then start a gradual decline following the seasonal pattern.

“Still, at the end of the year it may be still close to 14 percent,” they wrote.

Kamila Wajszczuk