Czech unemployment rate flattens out in November
The Czech headline unemployment rate in November remained at the level of 5.9 percent, according to the figures released by the country’s Labour Office on Tuesday, unchanged from October. This follows a continuous decline over the previous three months. The latest figure still shows the jobless total at its lowest level since March 2009.
According to the acting head of the Labour office, Kateřina Sadílková, unemployment figures are expected to increase slightly in the next few months due to the continuing fall off of seasonal work and the termination of some fixed-term contracts.
She added, however, that the jobless rate should still be relatively low compared to the previous year. A year ago, unemployment in the Czech Republic stood at 7.1 percent. “In spite of the increase, the Labour Office has registered less applicants in their documentation than in the same period last year, Mrs Sadilková, said, adding that the country’s economy was in a good condition.
The number of job vacancies dropped by 2,275 compared to the previous month, to total 105.049, which is still some 45,000 more than last year. According to the head of the Labour Office, the figure remains broadly the same as in 2008, the height of the last Czech economic boom.
Among districts, the lowest unemployment remains in Prague with 4.2 percent, followed by Pilsen with 4,3 percent. The highest jobless rate remains in the region of Ústí nad Labem with 8.8 percent.
There are currently 4.1 applicants per vacancy on average. The highest number of job applicants per vacancy is in the region of Ústí nad Labem where it is over 18 applicants per vacancy, while in Prague it is on average 1.5.
According to ČSOB financial analyst Petr Dufek, the Czech unemployment rate remains the second lowest within the EU.
Experts predict that the Czech unemployment rate for the whole year will average out at 6.5 percent, which is the lowest figure since 2009.
