Polish businesses expect employment levels to remain stable in 2010, according to the publication of a new survey.

The Confederation of Polish Employers disclosed that more than half of the companies it polled said that they plan no changes to their workforces next year, while 30 per cent signalled plans to hire more employees.

Specifically, the survey revealed that businesses in the pharmaceutical, food and beverages and paper manufacturing industries plan to recruit the most jobless workers in 2010, Reuters reported.

Responding to the findings, the Confederation of Polish Employers said: "The results of our survey, although there is some regression on the labor market and a growing number of unemployed persons... allow for moderate optimism."

Unemployment jumped from 11.1 per cent to 11.4 per cent of the available labor market in November, according to estimates released by the Labor and Social Policy Ministry.

The government department revealed that 1.81 million people were unemployed last month, with the north and north-west of the country hardest hit.