Czech government looks to foreign workers to fill 200,000 job vacancies

Czech companies currently lack around 200,000 workers and need to recruit foreigners to fill in the gap, according to an announcement that Labor Minister Marian Jurečka made Tuesday during a meeting of the Government Committee for Strategic Investments. Jurečka added that the lack of labor forces in Czechia limits the growth of the Czech GDP, and that filling in the 200,000 vacancies would bring an additional CZK 40 billion to the budget.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala, also in attendance, said “the Czech economy will run out of steam if we don’t do anything.” He said that previous governments had neglected the country's development in a number of areas, and without quick steps, there would be a risk that Czech competitiveness would decrease. 

In order to bolster the country's infrastructure, Fiala pointed out the need to hire more foreign workers. This would enhance Czechia's economy, which would in turn make Czechia a more attractive work destination. Jurečka expressed a similar idea, saying that, as well as sourcing workers from other European countries, workers from Vietnam and the Phillippines would also be an asset for Czechia.

The President of the Czech Chamber of Commerce Zdeněk Zajíček, who was at the meeting with Fiala and Jurečka, similarly emphasized that without investments in strategic infrastructure, the Czech Republic will face a lack of new investors and the departure of some companies currently operating in the country. 

Minister of Transport Martin Kupka on Monday noted that after 2026 it will be necessary to increase investments in the construction of transport infrastructure to more than CZK 300 billion per year. "The requirement to travel easily in the Czech Republic is the key to being a successful country," he said.

The government created its Committee for Strategic Investments at the end of June. Its task is to coordinate the conditions for ensuring strategic investments in the field of transport infrastructure, housing, energy, education, science, and research.

At currently about 3.4 percent, Czechia has in recent years had the lowest unemployment rate in the whole EU. According to official data, almost 1 million foreigners worked in the Czech Republic at of the end of December 2022, comprising some 15 percent of the adult workforce.