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The region of North Moravia lacks qualified workers in almost all areas of the labour market. Many employers complain about the deficit in workforce in the fields of information technology, management, accountancy as well as machinery, metallurgy and mining. Recruitment agencies have started bringing back North Moravians who had left in the past for other regions of the Czech Republic, especially Prague, for better employment opportunities. They are also working more closely with universities trying to keep their graduates in the region.

Czech ice-hockey player Jaromir Jagr, the captain of the New York Rangers, scored one goal and registered two assists in a game against Toronto on Saturday which saw the Rangers win 6:1. Two other Czech players in the Rangers line-up, Petr Prucha and Martin Straka, also scored in the game and together with Jaromir Jagr were voted the three starts of the game.

The Jewish community in Plzen, western Bohemia, is organizing a gathering outside the city’s Great Synagogue on January 19 in protest against a neo-Nazi march planned for that day. The march is supposed to take place two months after a similar event in Prague where thousands gathered in the Jewish quarter to stop neo-Nazis from marching on the anniversary of Kristallnacht. The far-right group plans to march past the synagogue in Plzen to protest against restrictions of freedom of speech. Czech Jewish organisations say this is only a pretext as the march will take place on the eve of the anniversary of the first transport of Plzen Jews to Nazi extermination camps during WWII.

Czech-born, US-based economist and presidential candidate Jan Svejnar arrived in Prague on Friday after spending the Christmas holiday in the United States. He arrived in the capital with his wife and daughter about a month before the election, to begin on February 8. The candidate has gotten backing from the Green Party and the opposition Social Democrats, and is thought to have the support of some Christian Democrats and Communists; he is the only other candidate in the race against incumbent Vaclav Klaus. A recent poll suggested some 34 percent of Czechs feel that Mr Svejnar would do a better job as president, while an equal number says the same for Mr Klaus. A remaining 32 percent of respondents made clear they had no preference.