In August, the unemployment rate in the Czech Republic increased slightly to 3.6%, up from the previous month’s 3.5%. This change resulted in 1,870 more people without jobs, bringing the total to 260,803 individuals. The uptick in unemployment coincided with a decrease of around 4,400 job openings compared to July, leaving employers with 281,207 job vacancies at the end of the summer holiday period.

During the same month last year, the country reported an unemployment rate of 3.4%, with nearly 252,000 individuals unemployed and over 312,000 job openings. This year, the country saw a consistent decline in unemployment from March to June, but the rate inched up in both July and August.

Experts anticipate that unemployment in the Czech Republic will either remain stagnant or experience a slight increase in the coming months. Nevertheless, the country’s unemployment rate continues to be among the lowest in the European Union. According to Eurostat data, the country’s unemployment rate for July, after seasonal adjustments, was 2.7%, making it the second-lowest in the EU, where the average rate stood at 5.9%.

The labor market in the Czech Republic is primarily influenced by employers’ demand for manual workers in the processing industry and construction. There is also continued demand for seasonal laborers, particularly in agriculture, horticulture, and forestry. The Office of Labor and Social Affairs noted that while fresh graduates have begun registering as job seekers, they have not yet had a significant impact on unemployment rates.

The office anticipates that the primary wave of graduates will register as unemployed in September as the seasonal work concludes. Typically, the job market experiences a revival in September.

As of August’s end, the region with the highest unemployment rate was Ústí nad Labem, where 5.4% of the population was unemployed. It was followed by the Moravian-Silesian region with 4.9% unemployment. Conversely, the South Bohemian region, as in July, maintained the lowest unemployment rate at 2.6%. The Zlín and Vysočina regions also reported a low unemployment rate of 2.7% each.

Despite the slight uptick in unemployment, the Czech Republic’s labor market remains relatively stable compared to other EU countries. On average, there were 0.9 job seekers per available job position in the country by the end of August.

It’s worth noting that Eurostat and the Office of Labor and Social Affairs employ different methodologies to measure unemployment rates, with Eurostat relying on data from the Czech Statistical Office based on selective labor force surveys, while the Office of Labor and Social Affairs utilizes data on the number of registered job seekers.

Article by Prague Forum