Word: polese
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Since the European Union's enlargement in 2004, when Britain opened its job market to Europe's new member states, Poles have provided the British economy with a flood of cheap and plentiful labor. (Sweden and Ireland also opened their doors to East Europeans seeking work, while other E.U. countries...
Now, though, many Poles are returning home or seeking jobs in Sweden or Norway, which last year relaxed its work permit rules, or France, which did the same earlier this summer (and where salaries are paid in the soaring euro). "They can't find work here, and they came to...
Financial considerations are now driving them home again. On May 1, 2004, the day of Poland's accession, a pound would buy more than 7 zloty, versus 4 today. In Poland, wages rose 7.7% last year, double their growth rate in the U.K.; and Poland's unemployment rate has dropped...
With the Polish economy growing at over 6%, there's a steady campaign to lure foreign workers home. Polish newspapers in Britain run ads from companies in Poland looking for returnee workers; builders are particularly in demand as the country pours money into infrastructure for the 2012 European Football Championship...
But it's not just Poland's growing opportunities that are causing the shift. After the country's E.U. accession, the Polish media painted Britain as a paradise. "The Poles all came here expecting gold coming from heaven," says Smolicz. For many, the reality has been less sublime. Earlier this...