Unemployment in the Czech Republic rises to 3.9% in September, vacancy numbers also increase

Unemployment in the Czech Republic climbed to 3.9% in September, marking a 0.1 percentage point increase from the previous two months. This rise is largely attributed to the influx of approximately 3,000 recent school graduates entering the labor market. By the end of September, there were 299,005 unemployed individuals, an increase of 4,585 compared to August. However, the number of available job vacancies also grew, with an additional 1,400 positions, bringing the total to 264,654, according to data released today by the Labour Office of the Czech Republic. In comparison, unemployment last September stood at 3.6%.

Despite the uptick in unemployment, Daniel Krištof, CEO of the Labour Office, highlighted a record-breaking trend in job placements. “The number of applicants remains higher than the number of vacancies. However, the number of job seekers we placed is at an all-time high,” Krištof noted. In September, the Labour Office successfully found employment for 31,845 job seekers, the highest figure since tracking began in 1993. The number of job placements facilitated by the office increased by over 80% compared to the same period last year.

The unemployment registry includes not only individuals actively seeking work but also those temporarily unable to work, such as people in retraining programs, mothers on maternity leave, and others facing barriers to immediate employment. The number of “available” job seekers, those who could start working right away, was recorded at 268,701 in September.

Regional disparities in unemployment rates continue. The Ústí nad Labem region had the highest unemployment rate at 6.2%, while Prague maintained the lowest rate at 2.9%. The year-on-year change was most pronounced in the Olomouc and Moravian-Silesian regions, where unemployment rose by 0.7 percentage points compared to September 2023.

Among districts, Most had the highest unemployment rate at 8.6%, while the Prague-East district reported the lowest at 1.5%. Nationally, there was an average of 1.1 job seekers for every available job. The greatest competition for positions was in the Karviná region, with 10.2 applicants per vacancy. In contrast, Mladá Boleslav and districts in Prague-East and Prague-West had the least competition, with just 0.3 applicants per position.

In September 2023, unemployment was lower at 3.6%, with 263,020 job seekers and 281,995 vacancies recorded.

Source: CTK