Unemployment rises to 6.0 percent

Czech unemployment rose to 6.0 percent in December 2008 from 5.3 percent a month earlier, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs said Friday. Analysts expected the jobless rate to grow as companies started to lay off staff in response to the global financial crisis. The number of job seekers ready to start work immediately grew to more than 335,000 in December from a little over 300,000 a month earlier.