The number of fresh university graduates who have problems finding a job has increased dramatically over the past two years, media finds.

While in 2008 only 300,000 Poles under 25 years old were registered as unemployed, this year the number reached almost half a million, with one third of the figure comprised of university graduates.

The unemployment rate for people between 15 and 24 years old in Poland stands at 23 percent, higher than the EU average, Eurostat shows.

Poland, however, is not the only EU member state which faces high unemployment among the youth. In Spain it amounts to 40.5 percent.

Many young people are disillusioned, believing that they will not manage to find a job without having personal connections, so every fourth university graduate does not even look for employment, reveals the Central Statistical Office.

The rest are determined to find a job. A survey by Gazeta Wyborcza showed that as many as 70 percent of young people would move to a different city if they managed to find employment there, and are happy to earn 2,210 zloty a month (540 euro). 20 percent of young Poles would agree to take any kind of job even below their expectations. As many as 64 percent of the youth wants to set up their own company.

There are three reasons why young Poles cannot find a job, claims Piotr Sarnecki from the Lewiatan Polish Confederation of Private Employers. “Firstly, in some branches all posts have already been taken and the market is saturated, secondly, there are more university graduates and not all of them are well-educated. Last year, there were 461 higher education establishments in Poland, one third more than in 2000, and the number of graduates has increased by 18 percent. Thirdly fewer people are employed because of economic recession,” says Sarnecki.

Maciej Bukowski from the Warsaw School of Economics also points out that Poles usually enter the labour market at the age of 23, three years later than their European colleagues.

Labour market experts advise that young people should look for any kind of job at the beginning instead of expecting high salaries while having no work experience. “They should also choose faculties that will guarantee finding a job. In Poland too many people study humanities,” says Piotr Sarnecki. “The government should also help graduates because high unemployment affects the country’s economy,” adds economist Wiktor Wojciechowski. (mg/jb)

Source: Gazeta Wyborcza