Employment and Wages in the Czech Republic

The unemployment level in the Czech Republic, as in most other countries, grew over the last year or so. According to data from the Czech Statistical Office, the overall level went up by 2.9% from 4.4% to 7.3%. Prague has fared a little better than the rest of the country with an unemployment rate of 3.8% according to the Labor Office website.

These are average figures. They don’t reflect specifically what’s happening in the industries where expats more often tend to work, such as education, publishing, media, IT and finance. In those fields there have been small reductions, or in the case of education and entertainment a small rise. The table below shows the total number of people employed in these fields in the third quarter of 2009, the most current available on the Czech Statistical Office website.

The statistical office was not able to provide a breakdown of English speaking expats in these fields and as the data is a few months old, it can only give some idea of the employment situation at the moment.

From personal accounts of people in education and translation services; there have been reductions in the number of foreigners compared to a few years ago to reflect the belt-tightening of companies. Any growth in this field is more likely to be in the public education sector which employs proportionally fewer expats than the private.

This table below shows the average wages for the different fields. All figures are from the third quarter of 2009.

Considering the professional fields in which English speaking expats work, the wage increase has generally been above average whereas the wages themselves are around the average or above.

When considering a field like education, there will be big differences between state school teachers and lecturers at a university, or language teachers in the private sector.  As an EFL teacher in the private sector you are likely to be paid about 200 CZK per 45 minute lesson. Freelancers can ask for around 500 CZK, since they are cutting out the middle-man. To be a freelancer you will need a business license (živnostenský list). A university EFL teacher with a full time load can earn 28,000 CZK gross per month, possibly even more.

Another field which employs expats is translation. Getting someone to name a standard price is a lot harder in this field. One professional translator told me that translation per standard page can be between 350 and 500 CZK. A standard page is 1800 keystrokes. This price will vary depending on the nature of the text. Specialist and legal documents can be charged more, fiction is usually charged less. The same translator quoted a figure of 130 CZK for proofreading a standard page.

Some companies also offer paid accommodation if you are out of Prague. So when comparing salaries in Prague, which are often higher, you should factor in your accommodation as positions outside of Prague may offer you a company flat or have cheaper rent.