Unemployment Rate in Czechia Falls, but Remains Higher Than Previous Years
After a steady increase in unemployment since June 2022, the job market in the Czech Republic has finally fallen.
Unemployment rate in the Czech republic has increased every month since June 2022, but the end of winter marks a shift in these trends.
Projections for the unemployment rate in the Czech republic exceeded expectations this spring. Hovering at 3.9 percent during February, the unemployment rate fell to 3.7 percent by March – exceeding predictions that it would only decline to 3.8 percent.
Experts attribute the rapid decline of unemployment to favourable weather conditions, which allowed for the resumption of work in the industrial sectors, such as agriculture, construction, forestry, and mining.
Regardless, the unemployment rate in March 2023 was 0.3 percent higher than last March, although it remains the lowest among EU member nations. January 2023 marked the first month in a 5 year period where there were fewer job vacancies than reported job applicants.
By February, the pressure of the job market eased, although the number of job vacancies exceeded the number of applicants by less than 600.
This trend continued to accelerate in March, with the surplus of job vacancies reaching 10,000. Despite unemployment continuing to fall and the job market stabilising itself, the surplus of job vacancies remains substantially lower than previous years.
In March 2022, there was a surplus of 150,000 job vacancies.
Attributed to an increased demand for outdoor labour, the unemployment rate is projected to fall to 3.5 percent during the summer, but it remains a worry that the unemployment rate will steadily rise again once the warmer months come to an end.
Seasonal work is far from the only factor which determines the unemployment rate in the Czech Republic. In an effort to mitigate the pressures from soaring energy costs and inflation, people worry that businesses will start looking towards layoffs.
This is most evident in government sectors: as of July 1st, 2,269 positions will be eliminated from the Czech Post (Česká pošta).
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