Unemployment keeps growing

The registered unemployment rate in the Czech Republic reached 9.4 percent in January, up half a percentage point from the previous month. This is the fourth consecutive rise and the January figure is the highest in almost two years.

Labour offices throughout the country registered 489 thousand job applicants, which was 27 thousand more than at the end of December. The main reasons behind the increasing numbers of jobless people is a slowdown of domestic economic activity due to low foreign demand as well as a seasonal fluctuation of employment in agriculture and construction.