Czech Unemployment Rate at Lowest Level Since 1996

At 2.9 percent, the Czech unemployment rate is the lowest in 22 years, and in particular, graduates have never had it easier finding work. According to labor office statistics, there are currently ten vacancies per graduate, a state of affairs that is attracting young people from Greece, Italy or Spain to the Czech Republic.

Unemployment varies widely by country in the EU, in many cases reflecting national differences in economic performance. In the first quarter of 2018, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, and Poland had the lowest unemployment rates. The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (20.1 percent in March 2018), Spain (15.8 percent), Italy (10.7 percent), France (9.2 percent) and Croatia (8.9 percent).

Labour Office spokesman Martin Bačkovský says the booming economy and the low unemployment means that many companies no longer require work: “There are currently 300,000 job vacancies on the labor market and in the case of 70,000 job offers lack of experience is not considered a drawback.“

The increase in the number of foreigners in the Czech Republic through 2016 and 2017 brought the number of expats up to 524,000, around 5% of the total population of the Czech Republic, according to data published by the Czech Statistical Office on January 1, 2018. 

Author: red