As President Piotr Roman said, the unemployment rate in the county was 7.5% in September this year, while in the city of Bolesławiec itself it was 4.5–4.8%.
What is the situation in the nearby counties? In Nowa Sól County, the unemployment rate is 17.9%; in Żagań County, 18.1%; and in Żary County, 10.4%. Other Lower Silesian counties:
- Zgorzelec County – 8.9%.
- Lubań County – 14.3%.
- Lwówek County – 19.4%.
- Złotoryja County – 20.7%.
- Legnica County – 14.9%.
- Jelenia Góra County – 13%.
The highest unemployment rate is in the former Wałbrzych Voivodeship, while the lowest is in the city of Wrocław and Wrocław County.
“The other part of Lower Silesia’s brighter picture consists of Bolesławiec County and two counties in the Legnica-Głogów Copper District [Legnicko-Głogowskiego Okręgu Miedziowego – przyp. „ii”]: Lubin and Polkowice, where mines and smelters operate; wages are high, demand in the local market is greater, and there are more services,” said P. Roman.
He added: “If someone wants to say that unemployment is lower here because people have left, that is untrue, because people have left all the counties. Only when we compare ourselves with other counties can we obtain a reasonably accurate picture of the situation.”
The president also presented data on the increase in the number of jobs in Bolesławiec, excluding the military and small companies employing up to nine people. “But we have data showing that the number of small companies in Bolesławiec has also increased,” Piotr Roman stressed. “The data on the increase in the number of jobs contradicts the claim that the reason for the decline in unemployment is young people leaving the country.”
The number of unemployed people in Bolesławiec was 3,884 in January 2004; by September 2015, it had fallen to just 972.