Warsaw  - Polish industrial orders dropped by 9.7 per cent in June compared to the previous month and were down 28.2 per cent compared to last year, the Central Statistical Office said Thursday.

Retail sales were up 0.9 per cent compared to the same period last year, the office said in a published report as Poland continues faring better in the financial crisis than much of Europe.

Unemployment fell slightly to 10.7 per cent compared to 10.8 per cent in the previous month.

Some 474 companies expect to lay off 29,400 workers in the near future, the statistics office said.(dpa)