According to data released by the Labor Office (ÚP) on Tuesday, the unemployment rate in June remained steady at 3.6 per cent, the same as in May. Over 272,000 people were seeking jobs through labour offices, about 1,600 fewer than the previous month. The number of available job positions decreased to 263,552, marking the seventh consecutive month with fewer job openings than job seekers.
Last June, the unemployment rate was slightly lower at 3.4 per cent. The Labor Office noted that the seasonal decrease in unemployment had already been exhausted by June and did not decline further compared to May. Marian Jurečka, the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, stated, “In June, we did not observe any significant changes in the unemployment rate, which remains very low, even the lowest in the entire EU.”
The highest unemployment rate in June was recorded in the Ústí Region at 5.9 per cent. In contrast, the lowest unemployment rates were in Prague and Vysočina, at 2.7 per cent. On a national average, there was approximately one job seeker per available job in June. The most significant job market pressure was seen in Karviná, with 10.3 applicants per position, while Mladá Boleslav had the lowest ratio at 0.2 applicants per job.
Tomáš Volf, an analyst at Citfin, pointed out that for over half a year, the number of job seekers has exceeded the number of available jobs. He attributed this to the rigidity of the labour market. “Companies not only struggle to find suitable employees but often cannot find any at all. During uncertain times, people are hesitant to risk changing jobs, so they remain even in less favourable positions,” Volf explained.
In June, 86.5 per cent of people found employment through the Labor Office, a record high. “Only 13.5 per cent of people were proactive and did not rely on the Labor Office. Unfortunately, this confirms that people in specialized and professional positions remain in their current jobs,” Volf added.