Czech Unemployment Rose in July for the First Time in 2018

Unemployment in the Czech Republic recorded a rise for the first time in 2018 during July, with a 3.1% figure a slight uptick from June’s 2.9%. 231,570 people are currently registered as unemployed in the Czech Republic, according to the Czech Labor Office.

The long-term unemployment trend, however, is still on the downswing.

At the beginning of the year, the rate of unemployment in the Czech Republic stood at 3.9%. It fell every month during 2018 before hitting a 20-year low of 2.9% in June.

In July 2017, unemployment in the Czech Republic stood at 4.1% (approximately 303,000 unemployed) – making 2018’s figure a full 25% less year-on-year.

The slight rise in Czech unemployment during July was also anticipated due to a variety of recurring yearly factors.

“The moderate increase in unemployment is attributable to the seasonal arrival of new employees from the education sector to the Labor Office, and also a slight reduction in the recruitment of new employees during the summer due to company-wide holidays.”

Along with the rise in unemployment, the number of available vacancies on the Czech market has also risen. Currently, according to the Labor Office of the Czech Republic, there are more than 310,000 jobs officially on the market.

That means that if everyone registered as unemployed in the Czech Republic immediately found a position, there would still be some 80,000 jobs on the market – and not enough people to fill them.

And while Czech unemployment rose in July, it’s not a trend that should be expected to continue.