A clear observation that does emerge regarding the economic
performance of voivodships from income group one is that high growth in labour
productivity is the dominant source of real GDP capita growth and this is positively
associated with low or falling rates of growth in the number of hours worked and
comparatively stable average rates in employment. This supports earlier
conclusions in so far that voivodships with higher shares of services and industry in
overall output have benefited the most from foreign investment and work fewer
hours. Income three voivodships in contrast, with exception of Podlaskie, achieved
comparatively lower rates of average growth in labour productivity and this was
associated with higher growth in the number of hours worked per job and much
sharper falls in average rates of employment. Podlaskie achieved the second
highest growth in labour productivity in the country and this is reflected in the
voivodship’s lower growth in the average number of hours worked, which was half
of that (1.87%) of Warmińsko-Mazurskie (3.62%). Podlaskie also experienced the
lowest average fall in the rate of employment (-2.44%), though this was partially
offset by a fall in the size of the population of working age (Demography (-1.19%)),
which eased pressure on the labour market. In contrast, Podkarpackie achieved
the lowest average growth in labour productivity (3.47%) from income group three
and this was associated with the highest growth in average labour intensity and the
sharpest fall in average employment (-5.16%). The case of Podkarpackie however
shows that the decline in employment was also aggravated by an increase in the
size of the population of working age (demography), which increased by 1.19%
and reflected the lack of capacity of the labour market to absorb additional
individuals of working age into the work force. The case of Śląskie from income
group one illustrates this.