Business and IT services sectors add 10,000 jobs in Czechia this year

The business and IT services sector added 10,000 new jobs in the Czech Republic this year, continuing strong growth despite global economic headwinds, according to a new report from the Association of Business Service Leaders in the Czech Republic (ABSL).

ABSL Managing Director Jonathan Appleton said expansion plans indicate the sector is on track to employ 200,000 people by 2025. The fastest-growing areas were cybersecurity, IT support, and data analytics.

"Despite a tight labor market, crises, inflation and geopolitical turmoil, our sector continues to thrive," Appleton said. "No other Czech industry has demonstrated such resilience and consistent growth over the past decade.”

Appleton expects another 25,000 jobs to be added nationwide over the next two years, especially in growing hubs like Brno, Liberec, Hradec Králové, and České Budějovice.

These will be innovative, digital and global roles contributing high value to the country's vision as a digital and innovation leader in global business, he said.

A majority (59 percent) of existing centers plan further expansion, according to the ABSL survey. However, labor shortages have forced many to intensify technology adoption to automate and streamline tasks. On average, these technologies now perform the equivalent work of 53 full-time employees per center.

"It is innovations like robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, OCR and data visualization tools that enable the continuing expansion of scope and productivity of our centers," Appleton said.

He estimates the sector now contributes over USD 20 billion annually to the Czech economy through higher-skilled work. However, rising costs threaten the country's competitiveness as a location for shared services. According to the OECD, Czech labor taxes total 39.82 percent compared to 33.62 percent in competitor Poland and 34.72 percent in Ireland.

ABSL's conference this week in Brno explored trends and case studies around maximizing efficiency through technology.