Rates of employment, unemployment and economic activity - March 2020

Unemployment Rate Was 2.0% in March

30.04.2020
Code: 250146-20
 

The employment rate of the aged 15–64 years (the share of the employed persons in the age group 15–64 years, as percentage), seasonally adjusted, reached 74.5% in March 2020 and decreased by 0.7 percentage point (p.p.) compared to that in March 2019. The male employment rate was 81.3%; the female employment rate was 67.4%, both seasonally adjusted. The employment rate of persons aged 15–29 years, seasonally adjusted, was 46.5%, in the age group 30–49 years it attained 88.6%, and in the age group 50–64 years it got to 76.2%.

The general unemployment rate of the aged 15–64 years (the share of the unemployed in the labour force, that is in the total number of the employed and the unemployed (that means economically active persons), as percentage), seasonally adjusted, reached 2.0% in March 2020 and decreased by 0.1 p.p., year-on-year. The male unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, attained 1.8%; the female unemployment rate reached 2.2%.

The economic activity rate of the aged 15–64 years (the share of the number of the economically active in the total number of persons of this age group, as percentage), seasonally adjusted, reached 76.0% and declined by 0.8 p.p. compared to that in March 2019. Following the seasonal adjustment, the male economic activity rate (82.8%) exceeded the female economic activity rate by 13.9 p.p.

“Over a half of March was already affected by measures taken against the coronavirus spreading including temporary closure of many enterprises and schools. Many workers thus could not perform work activities and part of them were home quarantined or stayed at home receiving a carer’s allowance. It has not influenced employment or unemployment; however, it was significantly reflected in statistics of time worked. Although this year’s March had one working day more than the previous year’s March, the number of hours worked decreased by 10%. Among the self-employed, the reduction was deeper than among employees,” Dalibor Holý, Director of Labour Market and Equal Opportunities Statistics Department of the Czech Statistical Office, noted.

Eurostat, in its press release, publishes the monthly unemployment rate, identical in terms of the methodology applied, but for the age group 15–74 years. In the Czech Republic, the general unemployment rate for the aged 15–74 years in March 2020 was also 2.0%, while the data are based on the Labour Force Sample Survey results for the corresponding month.

Tables 1 and 2 enclosed contain methodologically consistent time series of basic indicators of the labour market, and seasonally adjusted absolute numbers of the employed persons and of the unemployed ones, respectively, starting in 1993. Table 3 has been newly added, with average numbers of hours actually worked, broken down by employees and the self-employed. This special table is not seasonally adjusted – the data can be compared only year-on-year (having in mind different numbers of working days).

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Notes:
Responsible head at the CZSO: Dalibor Holý, Director of Labour Market and Equal Opportunities Statistics Department, phone: +420 274052694, e-mail: dalibor.holy@czso.cz
Contact person: Ilona Mendlová, Labour Market and Equal Opportunities Statistics Department, phone: +420 274054380, e-mail: ilona.mendlova@czso.cz
Data source: CZSO, Labour Force Sample Survey (LFSS), which is 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 using data of the population statistics as at 1 January 2020 and the prediction of the population development in the following three months.
Time series are updated in the course of seasonal adjustment as the whole series except for Table 3.
End of data collection / End of preliminary data processing: 20 April 2020 / 24 April 2020
Next News Release shall be published on: 2 June 2020

  •      anez043020.docx
  • Annexes:
  • Table 1 Rates of employment and unemployment, and of economic activity (seasonally adjusted)
  • Table 2 Absolute numbers of the employed and unemployed persons (both seasonally adjusted)
  • Table 3 Weekly hours actually worked in the main job
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Published: 30.04.2020
The data are valid as of the release date of the publication.


Contact: Information Services Unit - Headquarters, tel.: +420 274 056 789, email: infoservis@czso.cz