Poles emigrating closer to home. Chasing the Euro?

With dwindling numbers of Poles looking for work in the UK or Ireland, more are opting to emigrate to Slovakia in search of gainful employment.

In the first two years after Poland’s entry to the EU, the number of Poles living in Slovakia tripled, according to figures given by the Polish Embassy in Bratislava.

Numbers in 2009 showed 4672 Poles registered in the southern neighbour, although that number may be higher as many Poles do not officially register their stay in Slovakia and travel home at weekends.

The numbers are tiny relative to the UK and Ireland but we are also seeing Polish care workers opting for places like Austria rather then the UK.

With creative  outsourced recruitment solutions the reach of specialist UK recruitment firms is stretching into Europe with programmes in farming and transport.

Until very recently the relative strength of the Euro has been the attraction to Poles but that will change unless the Euro bounces back quickly from its recent slide.

The end of the "cash for clunkers" has yet to work its way through European employment markets and will effect demand in Slovakia.

Yet more evidence of how mobile labour markets are becoming.