Job opportunities to flood the Czech market after the new year

The Czech labor market has seen significant opportunities for job seekers in recent months, with demand for workers far exceeding supply. There has been less than one job seeker per vacancy in the country for months now, meaning options are, for many employers, severely limited.

Now, a survey by the Manpower Group recruitment agency presents more encouraging news for workers, with a majority of Czech employers set to hire, not fire, in the fire quarter of next year.

The survey found that 36% of employers plan to hire new employees while 23% expect to make redundancies. 35% said they do not plan any change in their number of personnel following the start of the new year. The survey involved companies from both the public and private sectors, and showed an overall increase in the labor market index, which measures the strength of the jobs market, up to +13% from +10% in the previous quarter.

Nonetheless, it isn’t all good news. Analysts note that uncertainty prevails about the effect of the current wave of the pandemic on business activity after the New Year. And significant differences are emerging in companies’ responses to the situation.

“Extremes are emerging both between sectors, and between companies operating in the same industry. The previous decade of relative calm and stability across all markets has been replaced by a period of great turbulence. This has fundamentally changed both the market environment, working habits, and ways of recruiting and managing employees,” said Jaroslava Rezlerová, CEO of the Manpower Group Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The sectors promising the highest levels of expansion, according to the survey, are banking, insurance and real estate, with labor market index scores of +50%. Booming tech-based industries such as IT and telecommunications are also expected to take on new workers, with a labor market score of +25% for the sector.

On the other hand, the forecast is pessimistic for traditional manufacturing industries as well as the non-profit sector. The labor market index score for non-profits is -25%, while manufacturing has a value of -2%.

Unsurprisingly, employee growth is expected to be strongest in Prague, with a score of +23%. The capital is a hub for much of the sectors which are predicted to grow, such as IT, real estate and banking. But employment is expected to increase in the other regions throughout the country too.

The pandemic is casting a shadow of uncertainty over the short-term economic future of the Czech Republic. But many companies are still harboring ambitious growth plans for next year, meaning workers should be careful not to miss out on exciting opportunities.