Selected economic indicators - November, December 2010

Selected economy indicators

The y-o-y industrial production volume rose the twelfth successive month, the growth rate significantly accelerated. The y-o-y dropping in construction has almost stopped. The volume of imports continued growing faster than of exports; the trade balance was lower than a year ago. November was one working day longer than last year.
In December, the m-o-m consumer prices level increased as against November, the inter-annual gain of prices raised after three months of stagnation. The average annual rate of inflation in 2010 was 1.5%. Number of registered unemployed people went up considerably, the registered unemployment rate increased inter-annually and inter-monthly.

NOVEMBER 2010

INDUSTRY

The y-o-y volume of industrial production in November was up by 15.9%, after working days adjustment by 13.0%. The total increase was mostly contributed to by 4,0 percentage point by manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (growth by 23.8%), by next 1.9 p.p. manufacture of machinery and equipment with production growth by 26.2% and by 1.7 p.p. manufacture of metal constructions and metal-working products (growth by 20.4%). A downward effect on the growth (by -0.1 p.p.) came from the drop in manufacture of wearing apparel by 9.1%. The seasonally adjusted volume of industrial production increased against October by 2.0%.

Revenues from industrial activity at current prices increased y-o-y by 14.9 %. Direct export revenues of industrial enterprises increased by 22.8 %. Their share in total revenues of industrial enterprises made up 49.5 %, which was by 3.2 p.p more than a year ago.

The average registered number of employees (workers hired by agencies are not involved ¹) in enterprises with 50+ employees decreased by 0.6% inter-annually. Their average monthly wage reached CZK 28 835 and rose by 6.2% nominally and really by 4.2%.

The value of new orders in selected industrial CZ-NACE activities raised by 14.2% inter-annually, non-domestic new orders increased by 21.6%.

From January to November, volume of industrial production increased by 10.3% against the same period of 2009. Sales in industry at current prices went up by 9.8% and direct export sales by 16.4%. The average number of employees in enterprises with 50+ employees went down by 5.1%, the average monthly wage increased nominally and really by 4.6% and 3.2%, respectively.

CONSTRUCTION

In November, the y-o-y volume of construction output went again down, but only slightly by 0.1% (at constant prices) this time; after working days adjustment it went down by 1.3%. The gain in building construction of 2.8% did not entirely replace the civil construction decrease of 5.2%. The construction output (after seasonal adjustment) increased by 0.6% m-o-m.

The construction of 1 973 dwellings started, which was by 27.6% less than a year ago, number of dwellings completed went up by 24.4% to 4 434 dwellings.

The average number of employees (workers hired by agencies are not involved ¹) in construction enterprises with 50+ employees went up by 0.7% y-o-y. Their average monthly wage reached CZK 33 180 and rose by 3.5% nominally and by 1.5% really.

From January to November the y-o-y volume of construction output was lower by 7.1% really as against during the first eleven months of 2009, in which the civil construction decreased by 6.0% and the building construction by 7.7%. The number of employees reduced by 3.2% in enterprises with 50+ employees, their average monthly wage went up nominally by 3.6% and really by 2.2%. The number of dwellings started decreased by 26.1%, the number of dwellings completed decreased by 3.2%.

EXTERNAL TRADE

In November, the y-o-y volume of exports increased by 21.0%, for the ninth successive month volume of imports grew faster, now by 24.1% - all at current prices. Both values were the highest from 2010 year. The trade balance ended in a surplus of CZK 11.8 bn in November, which was by CZK 2.7 bn lower inter-annually. The trade balance with EU member states was active, it reached CZK 56.9 bn, which was about CZK 11.8 bn more than the previous year. The trade balance with non-EU countries was again passive, it amounted to CZK 45.1 bn, but in November 2009, the debit was better by CZK 14.5 bn. The trade balance was negatively affected mainly by the deficit increase of trade of mineral fuels by CZK 2.1 bn and chemical products by CZK 1.4 bn. After seasonal adjustment, m-o-m exports went down by 1.5% and imports by 0.1%. Trends in exports and in imports raised by 0.6 % and 0.2%, respectively.

From January to November y-o-y exports increased by 16.5% and imports by 19.2%. The trade balance surplus amounted to CZK 122.6 bn and it was lower by CZK 24.4 bn than during the first eleven months of 2009.


DECEMBER 2010

CONSUMER PRICES

In December, total consumer prices level increased by 0.5% as against November, which was – apart from January – the biggest m-o-m price raise in 2010. In total, prices of goods increased by 0.8% whereas the prices of services did not change.
The biggest price raise settled in food and non-alcoholic beverages (mainly of fruit by 13.0%, vegetables by 6.4%) and also transport (the price raise of fuels by 4.6%). These price increases were slightly reduced by decreases of prices of pig meat by 1.6%, poultry by 1.8%, eggs by 3.6%, motor cycles by 0.5%, bicycles and air transport by 0.7% each. In terms of the y-o-y comparison, consumer prices growth raised on 2.3% which was by 0.3 percentage point more than during previous three months. The price level increase was influenced by 1.0 p.p. by prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages (prices increase by 5.6%), by next 0.6 p.p. by prices in housing, water, energy and fuel (prices increase by 2.3%) and by 0.4 p.p. by prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco (prices growth by 5.3%).

Inflation rate, expressed as an increase of the average consumer price index for last 12 months related to the average CPI for the preceding 12 months, reached 1.5% in December and was by 0.1 p.p. higher than in November. Living costs (imputed rentals not involved) in households of pensioners went up by 2.1%.
When regarding the quarterly price development in 2010, the growth rate continued accelerating: during the first quarter 2010, consumer prices grew inter-annually by 0.7%, during the second quarter by 1.2%, during the third quarter by 1.9% and during the fourth quarter by 2.1%. The administrative prices raise in the first quarter 2010 was 1.0% and then grew faster by 2.4%, 3.7% and 3.8% in other quarters. Market prices in respective quarters were higher by 0.5%, 0.9%, 1.5% and 1.6%.

In December, the average harmonized index of consumer prices increased in the Czech Republic on 2.3% y-o-y (the Eurostat flash estimate for Euroarea was 2.2%).

UNEMPLOYMENT

The registered unemployment rate (according to the Ministry of Social Affairs) increased by 1.0 percentage point in December and amounted to 9.6% to the end of the month. The unemployment rate of men went up by 1.4 p.p. to 8.8%, the unemployment rate of women went up by 0.6 p.p. to 10.7%. In comparison with the end of December 2009, the registered unemployment rate increased by 0.4 p.p.
At the end of December 2010, the number of unemployed people registered by labour offices significantly increased (561.6 thousand persons) which was by 54.9 thousand more than a month ago; compared to the same period of the previous year the number of unemployed increased by 22.4 thousand persons. The share of unemployed new graduated students and adolescents in total number of unemployed went down by 0.8 p.p. to 6.3% in comparison with the end of December 2009, when it reached 6.6%. Number of free job opportunities in m-o-m and y-o-y comparison dropped and was 30.8 thousand. Number of applicants per one job opportunity was 18.2 compared to 17.4 applicants at the end of 2009.

The average rate of registered unemployment in the year 2010 was 9.0%. In the first quarter it amounted to 9.7%, in the second to 9.0%, in the third to 8.6% and in the forth to 8.7%.

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¹ The indicator registered number of employees does not include: persons working under various contracts for work, working owners of enterprises and cooperating household members, who do not have contracts of employment. Data on the registered number of employees in industry (construction) also exclude agency workers, who have contracts of employment, however, not within the industry (construction).


This press release was not edited for language.

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Published: 12.01.2011
The data are valid as of the release date of the publication.