Inequalities in the labour market and regional diversity in Poland

Abstract

The aim of the article is to indicate the relationship between the existing inequalities in the labour market and the regional differentiation of the Polish economy. The study discusses issues related to differences in the level of economic development. At the same time, the least developed regions were distinguished. The permanent nature of the existing disproportions was also emphasized, and thus the need to identify the factors responsible for the resulting differences. The analysis of the literature on the subject indicated that inequalities in the labour market play an important role. Therefore, in the next part of the study, attention was paid to the role of education in economic development. The level of education of the population determines the quality of the human capital and thus becomes an important factor in regional development. The conducted statistical analysis confirmed that the least developed regions have low-quality human capital, which makes it difficult to reduce the existing development disproportions. From the point of view of regional differences, inequalities in access to job offers also turned out to be significant. The demand for employees determines the intensity of national economic entities in the REGON register. Significant regional differences were also observed in this respect. They show that the least developed regions have limited access to job market offers, not only due to the low quality of human capital, but also the low level of entrepreneurship. In this way, the analysis of literature and statistical data allowed the conclusion that both educational inequalities and inequalities in access to job offers remain significant determinants of regional disparities in the Polish economy.