Poland economy is slowing down - how does it affect you?

hey ironside,

Am afraid pawian is right. Poland's plants I mean pretty much all mfg was not up to the world's standards. There was a piece in The Economist was back saying it would make more sense to get rid of those smoke stacks cuz 1) they were very ineffective and 2) pollutants (the Southern Poland, e.g., Katowice has had one of the highest lung cancer cases and TB was rampant). There was very little industrial export, except agricultural goods, cuz of the quality of products made in those plants. Fiats (Fix it again Tony, as we call here) were exported only to Libya. Even the shipyards were not that efficient to compete w/ the Koreans, the Brazilians or even the Japanese (who were bumped off by the Koreans later, who now are screaming about the Chinese). To be honest, not putting Poland down, but she couldn't under the commies make any decent products to compete against the West. Thats why lotta factories havbeen sitting as no one wants to buy them, again, cuz it would be more cost efficient to just demolish them and then build something else. You gotta understand that the market forces are very brutal, just look at Yorkshire, which used to be a mighty mfg place, but now it's a pretty much rundown city.

Well do you have any prove? In form of throughout research?If not you are not in positions to claim anything.
As for your examples - I'm not saying that everything was top world class but neither everything was a worthless junk.


Actually they were efficient enough.


actually she could - like optical fiber, and some high tech items and

That is only few but I haven't even researched it properly. However if somebody wants to claim that 90% of Poland's industry was a worthless junk he better provide some prove.


Wasn't gov done all the dirty job for so called the market forces?Fat cats and some behind the scene manipulation ain't appeal to me as something inevitable and good.

Here's a link countrystudies.us/poland/ and the common theme about the Polish industry under the Communist Party is... "encouraged inefficient and low-quality production that discouraged trade with the rest of the world..." or "the continued existence of inefficient state enterprises lowered productivity significantly." On top of that, I mentioned The Economist, but you need to google to find the piece...

Btw, I was not aware that Poland had a "hi-tech" industry w/ fiber optics (I guess in its infancy). But btwn me n you if you mentioned that here, most people will giggle...It's like saying Poland had tanks to face the Germans in 1939. The overwhelming majority in the West, including the US, wouldn't believe you as their perception of the Poles is based on documentaries showing the Polish Army on horses charging the Germans tanks. Sadly, these are the facts n perception n you have to shrugem off n move forward! Like I said the current gov't MUST clean up corruption and nepotism. Dunno maybe look at the S'pore blueprint when they cleaned up their corruption back in the 60s...Well, gotta go now...

tuberculosis is not much affected by pollution from what I can gather - and there are anti tb jabs in Poland

Unemployment has reached 13% in December.

It'll hit 14% by April but then drop to 13% again during the summer season and then rise up to 15 or 16% come November.


It's like saying Germany had a bunch of tanks in 1939 though. Not talking about misconceived stereotypes, but the general frame of reference.

Production in Polish manufacturing declined in April for the 12th consecutive month, and the most since December of 2022.

@johnny reb
Consumerism, which was a major driver of the Polish economy is way down. People becoming much more conservative in their spending habits. Thankfully, the tourists are back to make up for it.

Ah, nice! So it didn't last too long, that situation where stupid tourists were afraid to go to Poland?

I found this article just now, that says that tourism numbers across the EU have pretty much returned to 2019 levels.

schengenvisainfo.com/news/eurostat-tourism-in-eu-showing-strong-recovery-rates-some-countries-even-surpassed-pre-pandemic-levels/

What sort of tourists do you see in Krakow? How would you break down the structure by origin, between these three categories: (1) Internal tourism (2) Intra-Schengen (3) Outside of EU?

@Bobko
I would not say it is pre pandemic. It is probably half that right now, but Krakow doesn't really take off until June so its a little early to say conclusively. Most tourism through the UK. Norway probably second. Israel third, and US fourth. Based on what is coming into my business anyway. Was very disappointing Constitution Day yesterday, the Poles are really staying at home.

@PolAmKrakow

Norway!!! How does a country with such a small population send out so many tourists? They're just too damn rich those Norwegians.

@Bobko
They do have a lot of money to burn it seems. And Poland is still warmer than Norway. I found it strange too. We have had a number of Finns as well but a lot of people from Norway.

They're the Kuwaitis and Emiratis of the North. They are second after Russia in Europe when it comes to oil and gas, except we have 150M people and they have 5M. Their State Pension Fund has $1.2 trillion in it, or about $200K per Norwegian.

Norway could pay down Poland's entire national debt, and have enough left to do it again.

It's not true. They went to Germany for an extended weekend.

Throngs of Chinese in Gdańsk this week, Germans and Americans. Took the missus to a restaurant in the Old Town on Tuesday - we were the only Polish-speaking guests. :D

Ever since the CCP raised the travel bans which they implemented at the beginning of the pandemic, we've been seeing the return of the regular hordes of Chinese here in NYC too. The shops at 5th Ave are very happy. Chinese love their Prada, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton.

@Alien
Interesting they would go to Germany and pay four times as much for anything they can get at home, but who knows.

@Bobko
Funny you mention the Kuwaiti's, because before the pandemic there were huge crowds of them. They have all but disappeared. Some from Dubai, but not many. It really has changed in Krakow, and not because of the war. I dont think people are worried about something happening here. I just think people, especially Poles, are being more conservative with their cash. It will be interesting to see if the new FED bump will prop up the dollar a little longer. If not, the US tourism will drop quickly. That said, inflation has not slowed here at all. We are having to raise our prices 10% in June just to cover increased cost of goods, in conjunction with increased labor costs. Had a guy ask me for 47 zl an hour for our lowest position yesterday. Thats a statement on the Polish economy.

It's almost like in Germany where the minimum wage is about PLN 55 per hour.

@Alien
If the economy in Poland was brisk enough to offer it, I would. This is a dishwasher position in my restaurant. Not even within reason.

@PolAmKrakow
Krakow is a special city. It's like Polish Munich. Prices and earnings are higher than elsewhere.

@Alien
I have been here for a few years. I am more than aware of costs of living and employing people. 25 zl per hour is the wage for a dishwasher at the best restaurant in Krakow, best being most expensive. Krakow is not NYC.

@PolAmKrakow
You're right, inflation is driven by the poorest. You will probably never find anyone in Krakow willing to work for PLN 25 per hour.

For 25 Zlots an hr he should get a ton of people esp immigrants.Just put the help wanted sign outside with wages and see how they line up.

PS:Esp brits. who teach English and Irish who work as nannies.:))Dishwashing is not a skilled work.

I doubt it. The Ukrainian lady who cleans up at my place, does the ironing etc. charges 45 pln/hr. 25/h sounds like a summer job for a high-school student, not serious full-time wages.

@GefreiterKania
Excatly. It is 6 hours a day. Washing dishes, not skilled labor. We also provide a meal daily, and not some fast food garbage.

@Alien
Position filled with a Slovak student the next day. Its dishwashing for god sakes. A friend of mine owns the most expensive restaurant in the city, pays his dishwasher 25, pays his waiters 27, and his cooks 30. Unless your in this busiiness you really dont know how the business pays. This sint an IT job or technical position. Before the pandemic, wages were insane with chefs getting 20K a month on average, now the same guys making 10K or less.

LOL Dish washing is also not a career job,whereas cleaning nowadays is among eastern European women especially.
25Pln is a VERY GOOD wage in Poland among immigrants,I see the ads on Facebook all the time,rarely over 22/23Pln an hr minus there rent,transportation to work etc.25 Pln an hr is = almost 52k Pln a year(add overtime if any),how many make that esp under 25/26(I dont know exact age to be getting paid taxfree).Most of these jobs are secured by those people or people from Polish villages.If the employer provides them immigration paperwork he can get away with 18/19 Pln an hr.I know someone who has a very fancy restaurant and pays his chef 7/8k a month in Warsaw the most expensive city in Poland.

I think that is more suited to Indians and Philiipinos.


Again,more suited to Indian or Philipino women.
They have that same subservient mentality.