Poland Growth Forecast Raised to 4%

International rating agency Fitch has revised up Poland’s 2017 economic growth forecast to 4%, from a previous estimate of 3.3%.

“After a higher-than-expected increase of 3.9% in the second quarter, Poland’s GDP growth will reach 4% this year,” Fitch said in a report, adding that consumption benefits from a strong labor market and solid wage growth will contribute to the increased growth, Xinhua reported.

The agency also said that in the second half of 2017, Poland was expected to accelerate spending of European Union fund and it could cause a significant increase in construction and investments.

Fitch expects a slight slowdown in growth to 3.2% in 2018 and 2019, due to the base effect and gradual tightening of the monetary policy which is expected to start in 2018.

In July, Fitch confirmed Poland’s long-term credit rating at A- with a stable outlook. A further review of Poland’s creditworthiness was scheduled for Dec. 8.

Polish companies invested a record PLN 31.8 billion ($8.65 billion) abroad last year, more than in the previous three years combined, according to the country’s central bank, NBP reported.

Luxembourg, Cyprus, Switzerland and the Czech Republic were the most popular destinations for Polish direct investment abroad, the National Bank of Poland said.

Foreign direct investment in Poland totaled PLN 54.9 billion ($14.95 billion) in 2016, down from PLN 57.6 billion a year earlier, the NBP reported.

The Netherlands and Germany ploughed the most FDI into Poland last year, the central bank said.

Meanwhile, joblessness in Poland dropped to 4.7% in August, down from 4.8% in July, and was far below the EU average of 7.6%, Eurostat said on Monday.

The Czech Republic was the country with the lowest unemployment in the European Union in August, at 2.9%, followed by Germany with 3.6% and Malta with 4.2%, according to Eurostat. Greece had the highest jobless rate in the EU, at 21.2%, followed by Spain, with 17.1%, the agency said.

It added that the EU average for August was the lowest since December 2008.  In July, unemployment in the EU as a whole was 7.7%, according to Eurostat.

Poland’s Central Statistical Office, which uses a different methodology, has said that Polish joblessness dropped to a record low of 7% in August, down from 7.1% in July.