Companies are scaling back their recruitment plans during the summer months, and this is reflected in the rising unemployment figures. By the end of July, the number of unemployed people reached 329,501, which is 14,036 more than in June and 46,490 more than a year ago. This marks the highest unemployment level since March 2017, with the unemployment rate slightly increasing to 4.4 percent—0.6 percentage points higher than last year, according to the Czech Labor Office.
Labor Minister Marian Jurečka explains that this mild increase is not surprising: “The July uptick in unemployment is expected annually, as it coincides with reduced hiring activity and lower job-seeking motivation. Companies hire less during this period, and many people postpone their job search until September.”Daniel Krištof, Director of the Labor Office, adds that the rise is also influenced by the termination of fixed-term contracts after the first half of the year.
However, analysts agree this is not merely a seasonal phenomenon. Vít Hradil, chief economist at Investika, points out that the labor market is cooling compared to previous years, with the month-to-month unemployment growth approximately one-third higher than historically normal. Andrea Linhartová Palánová from PwC attributes the increase primarily to manufacturing slowdowns caused by summer production declines, persistently insufficient demand, and high uncertainty levels.
Regional disparities remain significant. The highest unemployment rates are in the Ústí Region (6.7 percent) and the Moravian-Silesian Region (6.2 percent), while Prague maintains the lowest rate at 3.4 percent. At the district level, Most (9.6 percent) and Karviná (9.3 percent) face the most challenging situations. The job market competition is particularly fierce in Karviná, where 24 unemployed people compete for each available position.
Looking ahead, experts predict the situation will worsen. Petr Dufek, chief economist at Creditas Bank, forecasts unemployment could reach 4.7 percent by year-end, despite the Czech economy performing relatively well compared to neighboring Germany. With companies offering 95,553 job vacancies—approximately 3,000 fewer than in June—the current ratio stands at more than three unemployed individuals per vacancy nationwide.