At the end of February, a total of 326,223 jobseekers were registered with the Czech Labour Office—5,707 more than in January. The unemployment rate rose to 4.4% at the end of the month, an increase of 0.1 percentage points. This is according to data published today by the Labour Office (Úřad práce).
‘The positive news is that the active labour market policy is working in our country. This year, we are seeing increased interest in retraining. While a total of 7,113 people were receiving support as of 28 February last year, this year the figure has already reached 16,414 in the same period—an increase of 131%. Retraining programmes in accounting and digital education are particularly in demand. In addition, special projects to promote the employment of certain age groups are running successfully, and we continue to support the professional integration of people with disabilities,’ explained Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL).
Compared to the previous month, the unemployment rate rose in ten regions, most significantly in Karlovy Vary and Ústí nad Labem (both by 0.2 percentage points). In absolute terms, Prague, Moravia-Silesia, and Ústí nad Labem recorded the highest increases in the number of jobseekers.
In a year-on-year comparison, the strongest increase in the unemployment rate was recorded in Karlovy Vary (up 0.7 percentage points), followed by Ústí nad Labem, South Bohemia, Moravia-Silesia, and Liberec (each up 0.6 percentage points). No district recorded a decrease in the unemployment rate compared to February 2024.
At the district level, Most, Karviná, and Bruntál had the highest unemployment rates in February—each exceeding 8%. In contrast, the lowest unemployment rates, below 3%, were recorded in the districts of Prague East, Prague West, Rychnov nad Kněžnou, Pelhřimov, Benešov, and the capital, Prague.
The strongest monthly increases in the unemployment rate were recorded in the districts of Sokolov (up 0.5 percentage points), Most (up 0.3 percentage points), and Chomutov, Děčín, Nymburk, Tábor, Chrudim, Cheb, and Prostějov (each up 0.2 percentage points). In a year-on-year comparison, unemployment rose the most in the districts of Most, Sokolov, Česká Lípa, Vsetín, Ostrava, Český Krumlov, Prostějov, Písek, Jihlava, and Vyškov. The districts of Mělník and Prague recorded no change in the unemployment rate. No district recorded a decrease in unemployment compared to February 2024.
More job vacancies in February
At the end of the month, employers were offering a total of 88,062 vacancies through the Czech Labour Office—4,739 more than in January, an increase of over 5%. There are currently an average of 3.7 jobseekers per vacancy in the Czech Republic. The highest competition for jobs is in the districts of Karviná (27.1 applicants per vacancy), Děčín (15.2), Sokolov (14.3), Hodonín (13.3), and Bruntál (11.6).
The composition of jobseekers by duration of unemployment has changed over the past twelve months. The proportion of those unemployed for less than three months fell by 3.0 percentage points year-on-year to 31.7% (103,410 people in total). At the same time, the proportion of long-term unemployed—those out of work for more than twelve months—rose by 2.2 percentage points to 30.8% (100,399 people). The average duration of unemployment increased by two days to 471 days in February compared to January.
