The number of entrepreneurs in the Czech Republic rose again to a record high of 1.182 million over the first three quarters of this year, an increase of 27,000. This figure includes self-employed individuals such as private doctors, artists, and farmers. Last year, the number increased by 28,000 for the entire year, according to the Czech Social Security Administration records.
Most entrepreneurs are registered in Prague, with 222,000 individuals, followed by the Central Bohemian Region with 168,000 and the South Moravian Region with 132,000. Of all self-employed persons, those whose main source of income is their self-employment increased by 15,000 to 696,000, while those working as secondary self-employed rose by 12,000 to 486,000.
Although the number of self-employed reaches record levels, experts and representatives from the business community have pointed out that this rise partly reflects the so-called “švarcsystém,” a system where people work on trade licenses but in reality could be employees of the firms.
No other European Union country has self-employed individuals exerting such influence on their national economy as the Czech Republic. Companies employing between one and nine people account for more than 95 percent of all businesses in the country and are the largest employers, according to public sources.