Employment and unemployment as measured by the LFS - 2nd quarter of 2013

Employment rate is the highest since Q1 1998

The total employment in Q2 2013 increased by 64.9 thousand persons compared to the same period of 2012; the employment rate of the aged 15-64 years reached 67.8% and grew by 1.3 percentage point (p.p.), year-on-year (y-o-y). The number of the unemployed according to the ILO methodology grew by 7.1 thousand persons, y-o-y; the number of the long-term unemployed increased by 3.4 thousand persons. The general unemployment rate of the aged 15-64 years increased by 0.1 p.p. and was 6.8%.

Employment

In Q2 2013 the seasonally adjusted average number of employed persons increased by 25.9 thousand persons, compared to Q1 2013.

The number of employed persons increased by 64.9 thousand (i.e. by 1.3%), y-o-y, to 4 953.0 thousand while the increase was contributed by persons in the position of employees. The number of the self-employed in the main job, including family workers, in total fell by 29.0 thousand to 879.0 thousand persons compared to Q2 2012 and their share decreased to 17.7%. Compared to Q2 2012, the number of the employees, including members of producer cooperatives, grew by 93.9 thousand to 4 074.0 thousand and their share was 82.3% of the total employment.

The growth in the total employment was demonstrated mostly in the tertiary sector of services. In Q2 2013 the number of the employed in the secondary sector dropped by 21.5 thousand (it was 1 850.7 thousand persons in total) and the tertiary sector, conversely, saw an increase by 78.0 thousand persons (it was 2 946.5 thousand persons in total), year-on-year, and the number of persons working in the primary sector increased by 8.3 thousand persons (it was 155.6 thousand persons in total). An increase in the number of the employed in the primary sector has been monitored since Q3 2012.

The employment rate (percentage of the employed in the age group 15-64 years) reached 67.8% (the highest level since Q1 1998) and grew by 1.3 p.p. compared to Q2 2012. The male employment rate increased by 1.2 p.p. to 75.8% and the female employment rate grew by 1.5 p.p. to 59.7%.

The increase in the employment rate has been determined, first of all, by a higher use of part-time jobs, which are more employed by mothers to return to work. The higher employment rate is also contributed by the shift of the limit for the old-age pension entitlement yet also by the demographic development when potential students, especially of secondary schools, have been becoming scarcer in the population. The share of part-time jobs increased by 1.1 p.p., year-on-year, to 6.8%. In absolute figures the increase was by 57.0 thousand persons working part-time.

Unemployment

The seasonally adjusted average number of unemployed persons according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) methodology ¹⁾ decreased by 11.8 thousand persons in comparison to Q1 2013.

The number of unemployed persons reached 358.0 thousand (of which 190.5 thousand females) and the total number of the unemployed negligibly grew by 7.1 thousand persons, year-on-year. The growth in unemployment was manifested in the female population (by 9.9 thousand persons); in the male population, on the contrary, unemployment slightly decreased (by 2.8 thousand persons).

The increment of the total number of persons unemployed for one year and longer was 3.4 thousand and the total number of them reached 158.8 thousand persons. The share of the long-term unemployed in the total number of unemployed persons attained 44.3%.

The general unemployment rate according to the ILO definition in the age group 15-64 years (the share of the unemployed in the labour force, i.e. the sum of the employed and the unemployed) attained 6.8% in Q2 2013, which was by 0.1 p.p. higher than a year ago. If broken down by educational attainment, university graduates permanently show a low unemployment rate (2.3%) and the same can be seen for the persons having secondary education with A-level examination (5.0%). A high unemployment rate pertains in the group of persons with basic education (26.1%), and an above average unemployment rate stays also in the large group of those having secondary education without A-level examination, including persons with apprenticeship certificates (8.3%).

Similarly as in the previous quarters, economic activities of the Czech Republic population have been growing in a significant manner while the level of the economic activity rate of persons aged 15-64 years (ratio of the employed and the unemployed in this age group) reached the historically highest value (72.8%). The LFSS results have been released in a comparable form since 1993.

Inactivity

In the sample survey, data are collected also on persons, who do not work and do not seek a job in an active manner, and thus do not comply with the ILO conditions for the unemployed, yet they state they would like to be working. In Q2 2013 the number of such persons was 147.2 thousand, i.e. by 29.3 thousand lower than in the same period of 2012. Majority of persons willing to work, however, is not able to start in a potential job immediately. There are 67.6 thousand persons able to start in a job within a fortnight, at the latest.
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¹⁾ The ILO methodology defines the unemployed as all persons above a specified age who during the reference period were: - without work, that is, were not in paid employment or self-employment during the reference period; - currently available for work, that is, were available for paid employment or self-employment during the reference period; and - seeking work, that is, had taken specific steps in a specified recent period to seek paid employment or self-employment. The specific steps may include registration at a public or private employment exchange; application to employers; checking at worksites, farms, factory gates, market or other assembly places; placing or answering newspaper advertisements; seeking assistance of friends or relatives; looking for land, building, machinery or equipment to establish own enterprise; arranging for financial resources; applying for permits and licences, etc. This methodology is uniform for all EU Member States and produces internationally comparable data. It should be noted that the definition of “the unemployed” by the ILO differs from the definition of “job applicants” registered by the labour offices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the CR.

Analysis - Number of hours worked in the Czech Republic is one of the highest in the European Union


Notes:
Responsible head at the CZSO: Dalibor Holý, phone: + 420 274052694, e-mail: dalibor.holy@czso.cz
Contact person: Ondřej Nývlt, phone: +420 274054069, e-mail: ondrej.nyvlt@czso.cz
Authors of the analysis: Bohuslav Mejstřík, Marta Petráňová
Data source: CZSO, Labour Force Sample Survey (LFSS) conducted in selected dwelling households; collective accommodation establishments are not included in the survey. The LFSS results have been grossed up to the total population of the Czech Republic using data of the population statistics as at 1 January 2013 and the prediction of the population development in the first half of 2013. The results grossed up to the total population of the Czech Republic are based on results of the 2011 Population and Housing Census.
End of data collection / End of preliminary data processing: 18 July 2013 / 23 July 2013
Related Internet-published document: e-3101-13 - “Employment and Unemployment in the Czech Republic as Measured by the Labour Force Sample Survey” ( /csu/czso/katalog-produktu ) with the finalised survey results will be available on the CZSO website by the end of Q3 2013.
Next News Release shall be published on: 4 November 2013

Published: 05.08.2013
The data are valid as of the release date of the publication.