WARSAW: According to an initial estimate by the Central Statistical Office (GUS) Polish GDP growth in the second quarter was 3.1 percent, slightly below the 3.3 percent expected by economists. Małgorzata Starczewska-Krzysztoszek, chief economist of Lewiatan, noted that this data means that the government’s GDP growth forecast for 2016 is no longer feasible.
“The rate of GDP growth in the first half of the year is worrying, it will not be possible to reach 3.8 percent growth this year as is forecast in the government’s budget,” she explained. The economist Professor Tomasz Gruszecki agreed that the forecast might need to be revised, commenting, “3.8 percent growth [in 2016] is possible, but an optimistic forecast […] I would rather bet on 3.4 percent, maximum 3.5 percent.”
However Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the data encouraging, arguing that weaker growth was due to mistakes made by the previous government when preparing investment plans for 2016. Morawiecki also noted that the labour market is in a good shape, with unemployment at a record low and rising wages.
