Czech unemployment rate at 2.8% in May 2025

The unemployment rate in the Czech Republic stood at 2.8% in May 2025, according to data released by the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO). This figure represents a slight increase of 0.03 percentage points compared to the same month in 2024.

The employment rate for individuals aged 15–64 reached 75.8% in May, up by 0.7 percentage points year-on-year. The employment rate for men was 80.5%, while for women it was 70.8%.

The economic activity rate, which measures the proportion of economically active people in the total population aged 15–64, stood at 77.9%, showing a year-on-year rise of 0.8 percentage points. The rate for men was 82.6%, exceeding the rate for women by 9.5 percentage points, which stood at 73.1%.

Dalibor Holý, Director of the Labour Market and Equal Opportunities Statistics Department at the CZSO, noted different trends between men and women in the labor market. “Among women, who are more frequently employed in services, we continue to see growth in employment and economic activity. In contrast, for men, who are more affected by uncertainties in the industrial sector, economic activity has been declining for the fifth consecutive month,” Holý said.

All figures in the report are based on the Labour Force Sample Survey (LFSS), which is conducted by the CZSO in private households and aligns with International Labour Organization (ILO) standards. These results are methodologically distinct from administrative data collected by the Labour Office of the Czech Republic on registered job seekers.

For international comparisons, Eurostat reports the unemployment rate for the broader age group of 15–74 years. In this age category, the Czech unemployment rate was also 2.8% in May 2025.

The LFSS does not cover individuals living in collective accommodation facilities or temporary shelters. Data tables accompanying the report provide both trend-cycle and unadjusted time series for employment, unemployment, and economic activity rates dating back to 1993, with a focused time series from 2015 used for modeling purposes.

Source: Czech Statistical Office