In January, the number of job seekers grew by 16,319 to a total of 295,546, and the unemployment rate increased to 4.0%. That is 12,487 more when compared to the same period of 2023. The unemployment rate of men and women increased to 3.7% and 4.2%, respectively.
The unemployment rate had risen at the start of the year, reflecting a combination of seasonal factors and the economic challenges the labour market is facing. These developments are not exceptional at the beginning of the calendar year, reflecting the end of seasonal jobs created in the run-up to Christmas and the end of fixed-term contracts. In addition, the time taken to find a new job has increased to more than a month, indicating a change in labour market dynamics. Other factors contributing to the rise in unemployment are employers' concerns about rising costs, which have led some companies to stop or reduce recruitment. Agreement-based employment has been affected by legislative changes burdening firms with administrative and other complications, so that some of them have abandoned this form of employment. The unemployment rate is likely to rise slightly in the coming months. For employers, however, this means a possible relief, opening up more opportunities for hiring new workers and for the recovery of the labour market in general.
As at 31 January 2024, the Czech Labour Office registered a total of 266,783 vacancies. That is 5,006 fewer than in the previous month and 14,358 fewer than in January 2023. On average, there were 1.1 job seekers per vacancy, with the highest numbers reported in the districts of Karviná (10.2), Bruntál (8.7), Jeseník (7.2), Děčín (5.3), Hodonín (5.0), Opava (4.6), Most (4.3), Strakonice (4.1).
According to the latest available data, the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate, processed by EUROSTAT for the purposes of international comparison, reached 2.8% in the Czech Republic in December, as compared to 5.8% in the EU27. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the Czech Republic was 2.8%, compared to 5.9% in the EU27.
In the 3rd quarter of 2023, the average gross nominal monthly salary* (hereinafter “average salary”) was CZK 42,658, which is CZK 2,810 (7.1%) higher than in the same period in 2022. Consumer prices increased by 8.0% during this period, and real wages decreased by 0.8% as a result. The amount of salaries increased by 7.5%, and the number of employees grew by 0.4%. Compared to the previous quarter, the seasonally adjusted average salary grew by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter of 2023.
Compared to the same period of the previous year, the median salary (CZK 37,492) increased by 7.1%, which corresponds to CZK 40,153 for men and CZK 34,705 for women. Eighty percent of employees received salaries between CZK 19,835 and CZK 66,998.
source: MPSV, ČSÚ,
ec.europa.eu
*calculated to the number of employees in the national economy