The Central Office of Statistics has released a report on the state of unemployment in Poland.

The rate stood at 10.9 percent at the end of

February, marking an 0.4 percent increase on January. There are presently 1 million 718 thousand registered unemployed. Almost half the job seekers are resident in the countryside. Still, the year on year figures remain lower than in February 2008 when the rate stood at 11.3 percent.

Consumer optimism figures quoted by the Central Office of Statistics reflect a downward trend, dropping to the level of minus 26.4. Experts say the results are due to deteriorating factors shaping basic household consumer habits, among them the general economic situation and growing job insecurity.