In a recent report, the number of long-term unemployed individuals in the Czech Republic has increased. The data for December showed that the overall unemployment rate did not rise significantly from the previous year. The number of people out of work rose by just 7,424 to 279,227. However, the number of long-term unemployed, those without work for over a year, increased.
While at the end of the previous year, the labor office reported 74,326 cases, which rose to 82,234 last month. Consequently, the share of long-term unemployed people in the total unemployment reached 29.5 percent.
Analyst Miroslav Novák from Akcenta company suggested that there could be several reasons for the increase. For example, difficulties in a particular region or health problems of people who could not start anywhere before retirement could be contributing factors. However, he cautioned that concluding a trend based on this data is premature.
On the other hand, the number of unemployed people aged 50 and over slightly decreased last year. By the end of the year, nearly a hundred thousand were unemployed, making up 36 percent of all applicants.
The unemployment rate in December was 3.7 percent, two-tenths of a percentage point higher than in November. However, less than a third of the unemployed received support. The average amount of this support was 10,520 crowns, a year-on-year increase of 761 crowns.
In conclusion, while the overall unemployment rate in the Czech Republic remains relatively stable, there is a notable rise in long-term unemployment. This situation calls for further investigation into the underlying causes and potential interventions that could reverse this trend.