Total employment in the Q4 2020 decreased by 87.5 thousand persons, year-on-year (y-o-y) and reached 5 217.2 thousand persons. The number of the unemployed, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) methodology, increased by 52.5 thousand persons. The number of the economically inactive increased by 49.8 thousand. 

Employment
In the Q4 2020, the seasonally adjusted average number of employed persons decreased by 27.9 thousand persons, compared to the Q3 2020.

The number of working persons aged 15+ years decreased by 87.5 thousand persons, y-o-y, i.e. by 1.6%, to 5 217.2 thousand persons. The number of working males decreased by 32.0 thousand persons and the number of working females by 55.5 thousand persons. The number of employees decreased by 88.3 thousand to 4 337.1 thousand. Concurrently, the total number of the self-employed decreased by 1.3 thousand persons, mainly due to a decrease in the number of the self-employed with employees (employers) by 7.6 thousand persons. On the contrary, the number of the self-employed without employees (own-account workers) increased by 6.3 thousand. The number of family workers (contributing family members) also slightly increased by 2.1 thousand persons. Employment decreased in all five-year age groups in younger productive age up to 45 years, by 140.3 thousand persons in total. The decrease was considerable especially in females in that age (by 80.4 thousand).

According to data for the Q4 2020, development of employment in individual economic activities (CZ-NACE sections) in the Czech Republic was differing¹⁾. In the secondary sector of industry and construction, employment decreased, y-o-y, by 48.1 thousand to 1 936.9 thousand, mainly due to a decrease in the number of working persons in manufacturing (by 79.3 thousand). The decrease was the most perceptible in ‘manufacture of rubber and plastic products’ (by 14.6 thousand), ‘manufacture of fabricated metal products’ (by 13.8 thousand), and ‘manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers’ (by 10.0 thousand). On the contrary, the number of working persons increased, y-o-y, in construction (by 21.3 thousand). In the tertiary sector of services, the total employment decreased by 39.1 thousand to 3 142.8 thousand. The number of working persons decreased especially in the section of ‘transportation and storage’ (by 39.7 thousand) and ‘accommodation and food service activities’ (by 30.9 thousand). On the other hand, the number of working persons increased in ‘information and communication’ (by 27.6 thousand) and in ‘education’ (by 18.2 thousand). In the primary sector of agriculture, forestry and fishing, the number of working persons stagnated; the number of the employed in the sector was 137.6 thousand.

The employment rate (percentage of working persons in the age group 15–64 years) in the Q4 2020 decreased compared to the corresponding period of the previous year by 1.0 percentage point (p. p.) to 74.3%. The male employment rate decreased by 0.8 p. p. to 81.3% and the female employment rate dropped by 1.2 p. p. to 67.0%.

The complicated situation on the labour market during the pandemic is not reflected only in a decrease of the total number of working persons. Concurrently, the average number of weekly hours actually worked decreased, too. It dropped by 3.6 hours to 31.6 hours. In the group of employees the value of this indicator decreased by 3.2 hours to 32.5 hours; it decreased much more in the category of the self-employed by 7.2 hours to 33.9 hours.

In individual economic activities, the highest decrease of the weekly hours actually worked was in the CZ-NACE section of ‘accommodation and food service activities’ (by 14.7 hours, y-o-y, i.e. almost by 40%). It decreased considerably in ‘other service activities’ including, among other things, a lot of other personal service activities and support services (by 11.4 hours to 21.6 hours) and in ‘arts, entertainment and recreation’ (by 8.4 hours to 24.4 hours).  

Unemployment
The seasonally adjusted average number of unemployed persons according to the ILO methodology²⁾ increased in the Q4 2020 by 16.1 thousand persons, compared to that in the Q3 2020.

The total number of the unemployed aged 15+ years increased by 52.5 thousand persons, y-o-y, and reached 161.7 thousand persons. Both the number of the unemployed females increased by 32.8 thousand persons to 89.2 thousand persons and the number of the unemployed males increased by 19.6 thousand persons to 72.6 thousand persons. In absolute numbers, the number of the unemployed increased the most in Prague (by 13.4 thousand) and in the Středočeský Region (by 12.3 thousand). The number of persons unemployed for one year and longer increased by 3.6 thousand persons, y-o-y, and reached 34.8 thousand persons.

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) increased by 1.0 p. p. to 3.1% in the Q4 2020 compared to the Q4 2019.

As for regional comparison, the highest y-o-y increase of the unemployment rate and concurrently the highest value was in the Karlovarský Region (by 2.3 p. p., y-o-y, to 6.1%) and in the Ústecký Region (by 2.2 p. p., y-o-y, to 4.6%). On the contrary, the lowest unemployment rate was in the Pardubický Region (1.3%) and in the Zlínský Region (1.8%).  

Economic inactivity
The number of economically inactive persons aged 15+ years increased by 49.8 thousand, y-o-y, to 3 609.1 thousand. The number of economically inactive females and males increased almost the same (the increase in females was by 25.2 thousand, the increase in males by 24.6 thousand). Most of all, the number of economically inactive females aged up to 29 years increased (by 20.1 thousand). By their educational attainment, it applies mostly to females with higher education and females with secondary education with A-level examination. The increase in the number of economically inactive males was caused mainly by an increase in the age group of 60+ years (by 10.7 thousand).

Since April 2020, the Czech Statistical Office added to the standard Labour Force Sample Survey questions related to impacts of the coronavirus crisis on the labour market.³⁾  Data for the Q4 2020 show that a prevailing part of persons who have lost their job recently consider economic impacts of their unemployment on the household to be temporary and manageable. In comparison to the Q2 2020, severe impacts and insolvency of a household were experienced by 12.4% of the respondents (by 4.4 p. p. less); serious, but manageable economic impacts were experienced by 34.0% of the respondents (by 7.1 p. p. less); and 53.6% of the respondents consider pandemic crisis impacts to be temporary and manageable (by 11.4 p. p. more).

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Notes:
Responsible head at the CZSO: Dalibor Holý, Head of the Labour Market and Equal Opportunities Statistics Department, phone number: (+420) 274 052 694, e-mail: dalibor.holy@czso.cz
Contact person: Marta Petráňová, Unit for Labour Forces, Migration, and Equal Opportunities, phone number: (+420) 274 054 357, e-mail: marta.petranova@czso.cz
Data source: the CZSO, Labour Force Sample Survey (LFSS) conducted in selected private 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 based on results of the population statistics as at 1 January 2020 and the prediction of the natural population change and net migration in 2020.
End of data collection: 18 January 2021
End of preliminary data processing: 25 January 2021
Related document published on the Internet: 250129-20 - “Employment and Unemployment as Measured by the Labour Force Survey – quarterly data” with the final survey results will be available on the CZSO website by the end of the Q1 2021. (Home - We publish - Catalogue of Products - Employment and Unemployment)
Next News Release will be published on: 4 May 2021