Unemployment in Poland continued to climb steadily in November, reaching 11.4 per cent after 11.1 per cent in October and 10.9 per cent in September, official data showed yesterday.

A total of 1.81 million people were out of work at the end of November, figures from the national statistics office showed.

In October, the figure had been 1.74 million, after 1.71 million in September.

Poland, which joined the European Union in 2004, has a population of 38 million.

In November 2008, its unemployment rate had been 9.1 per cent.

Notwithstanding the state of the economy, unemployment often rises during the northern hemisphere winter, with the weather hitting sectors such as construction.

Poland traditionally has had one of the highest rates of unemployment in the 27-nation EU despite robust economic growth in recent years - although joblessness in a handful of other member states has far outstripped Poland's rate.

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