The unemployment rate in the Czech Republic remained stable at 4.2 per cent in June. Skilled workers in construction, transport and warehousing are currently in high demand – and increasing numbers of people are registering online with the employment office.
The Czech labour market remains robust: in June, the nationwide unemployment rate held steady at 4.2 per cent. According to Labour Minister Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL), job seekers continue to benefit from a stable market and rising wages: ‘Companies are still looking for qualified skilled workers and are offering, on average, up to 12 per cent more salary than in previous jobs. Those who take up a new job after a period of unemployment can expect an average wage increase of eight per cent.’
The districts of Most (9.4 per cent) and Karviná (9.0 per cent) continue to report the highest unemployment rates, followed by Chomutov, Bruntál and Sokolov. As usual, the lowest rates – in some cases below three per cent – were recorded in the regions around Prague, and in places such as Rychnov nad Kněžnou and Pelhřimov.
There was little change compared to May: only in the capital, Prague, did the unemployment rate rise slightly by 0.1 percentage points, while in the Karlovy Vary district it fell by the same margin. Year-on-year comparisons show greater fluctuations: unemployment rose by 0.9 percentage points in the Karlovy Vary and Liberec regions, and by 0.8 percentage points in Moravian-Silesia.
Online registration via the ‘Jenda’ customer portal increasingly popular
Digitalisation is also advancing at the Czech Employment Office: around a third of the 34,136 people who registered as unemployed in June used the ‘Jenda’ customer portal. Job seekers can register via this platform either on the web or via an app, available in the Android and iOS app stores.
Strongest demand in Prague and Central Bohemia
At the end of the month, 98,677 job vacancies were registered with the Czech Employment Agency – an increase of 2,264 compared to May. The highest demand is traditionally in Prague (23,467 jobs) and Central Bohemia (15,761). Nationwide, there are an average of 3.2 applicants per vacancy – in the Karviná district, the figure exceeds 21.
Construction workers, cooks, warehouse workers with forklift licences, lorry drivers, assembly workers and cleaning staff are currently in particularly high demand.
June also saw a slight decline in short-term unemployment: the proportion of those who had been unemployed for less than three months fell by 0.4 percentage points to 25.7 per cent. This corresponds to 81,038 people.
