The number of unemployed people in the Czech Republic has increased again, surpassing 326,000. In February, 326,223 people were unemployed, which is 5,707 more than in January.
Compared to the same period last year, the employment center registered 30,116 more unemployed people. The unemployment rate stood at 4.4%, an increase of 0.1 percentage point compared to the previous month. This is the fourth consecutive increase. There were more than 88,000 job vacancies in the country.
“We are observing a trend of slow growth in unemployment. However, this will be softened in the spring with the onset of seasonal work, which is generally in higher demand among men than women. Nevertheless, the situation in the Czech Republic, and in the European context, based on long-term data, is still very good,” commented Daniel Krištof, the General Director of the Labor Office.
He also noted the positive fact that the number of registered vacancies at the office has increased by more than 5% compared to January, or by 4,739 vacancies.
Currently, most people seeking employment and registration with the employment center are from the retail and wholesale trade sectors, metal construction manufacturing, education, public administration, defense industry, and food industry.
On average, there are about 3.7 applicants per vacancy in the Czech Republic. However, the situation varies significantly by region. In Karviná, there are on average 27.1 applicants per vacancy, in Děčín – 15.2, while in the Mladá Boleslav area, there is only 0.7.
The highest unemployment rate is in the Ústí nad Labem region, where it stands at 6.6%. This is followed by the Moravian-Silesian region with 6.1% and the Karlovy Vary region with 5.3%. The lowest rates are in Prague with 2.9% and the Central Bohemian region with 3.5%.
