In July 2024, the unemployment rate followed the usual seasonal pattern. After reaching its low in May and June, it increased slightly in July and was coming close to last years numbers.
As of 31 July 2024, the employment offices in the Czech Republic recorded a total of 283,011 job seekers—an increase of 10,327 people compared to June. The unemployment rate at the end of July was 3.8%, representing an increase of 0.15 percentage points from the previous month. These figures are according to the data published today by the Czech Labour Office (Úřad práce ČR).
“The slight rise in unemployment in July is a result of the usual seasonal development. The reduced activity of companies in hiring new employees, which is typical for the summer months, also plays a role. We are also seeing growing interest from recent graduates in the job market. Overall, the unemployment rate remains low, and the Czech Republic continues to perform very well compared to other EU countries. Thanks to retraining programmes, we are also effectively enhancing the competitiveness of the working population,” explains Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL), Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.
“A key route to good employment and higher income is through qualifications and skills. Here, courses and retraining programmes facilitated by the Labour Office can help. The majority of retraining programmes are funded by European resources, as lifelong learning is a priority for the European Union. Among those undergoing retraining, women are in the majority, and interest in retraining gradually increases with age up to 35 years and then spreads fairly evenly across other age groups, with 54% of retraining programmes involving individuals aged 35 to 55,” says Daniel Krištof, General Director of the Czech Labour Office.
Among those undergoing retraining, the most common are individuals with basic education, vocational qualifications, and those with full secondary vocational education but without a vocational qualification. “Retraining plays an indispensable role for these applicants, as employers’ interest in low-skilled applicants is declining,” explains General Director Krištof.
Regionally, the proportion of unemployed increased in all 14 regions compared to the previous month, with the largest increases seen in South Moravia and Vysočina. In absolute numbers, the largest rise in job seekers was in South Moravia and Central Bohemia. Compared to the previous month, the number of job vacancies slightly decreased to 262,026 (from 263,552 in June).
The highest unemployment rates (job seekers aged 15 to 64) in July were in the Ústí nad Labem region (6.0%) and the Moravian-Silesian region (5.4%). These regions also had the highest unemployment rates during the same period last year. In contrast, unemployment was lowest in Prague and the Vysočina region (2.9%).
At the end of July, the lowest unemployment rates were in the districts of Prague-East (1.5%), Prague-West (1.7%), Rychnov nad Kněžnou, Benešov, and Plzeň-South (2.1%). Conversely, the districts with the highest unemployment were Most (8.6%), Karviná (8.2%), Chomutov (7.1%), and Bruntál (6.7%).
