Employment and unemployment as measured by the LFS - 2nd quarter of 2012

The number of persons in the position of the self-employed without employees grows

The total employment in Q2 2012 increased by 11.8 thousand persons compared to the same period of 2011; the employment rate of the aged 15-64 years reached 66.5% and grew by 0.8 percentage point (p.p.), year-on-year (y-o-y). The number of the unemployed according to the ILO methodology declined by 0.5 thousand persons, y-o-y; the number of the long-term unemployed increased by 18.0 thousand persons. The general unemployment rate of the aged 15-64 years remained the same as in the previous year at 6.8%.

Employment

In Q2 2012 the seasonally adjusted average number of employed persons grew by 10.2 thousand persons, compared to Q1 2012. Thus, after two quarter-on-quarter declines the number of the employed persons increased and this positive change follows to the continuously growing number of the employed from Q2 2010 to Q3 2011.

The number of employed persons increased by 11.8 thousand (i.e. by 0.2%), y-o-y, to 4 888.1 thousand mainly due to an increase in the number of persons in the position of the self-employed without employees (+53.5 thousand). The number of the self-employed in main job, including family workers, in total rose by 37.8 thousand to 908.0 thousand persons compared to Q2 2011 and their share thus already reached 18.6%. Compared to Q2 2011, the number of the employees, including members of producer cooperatives, fell by 26.0 thousand to 3 980.2 thousand and their share was 81.4% of the total employment.

In the course of 2012 there has been no important change to the breakdown by basic sector of the national economy. In Q2 2012 the number of the employed in the secondary sector stagnated (in total 1 872.2 thousand persons) and the tertiary sector saw an increase by 15.2 thousand persons (in total 2 868.6 thousand persons), both year-on-year. In accord with the gradual decline in importance of the primary sector in the last two decades the number of persons working in this sector fell by 2.7 thousand persons, year-on-year (totally there are 147.3 thousand persons working in the sector) in Q2 2012.

The employment rate (percentage of the employed in the age group 15-64 years) reached 66.5% and grew by 0.8 p.p. compared to Q2 2011. The male employment rate increased by 0.5 p.p. to 74.6% and the female employment rate grew by 1.0 p.p. to 58.1%.

The discrepancy in between a negligible absolute increase in the number of the employed and a rather significant increase in the employment rate of persons aged 15-64 years is due to a depletion of potential workforce when the total number of persons in the age group of 15-64 years decreases substantially. This is, first of all, caused by the fact the large post-war generations have been gradually moving into the age group of 65+ years. Moreover, the weak populations of generations born in the middle of the 1990s have been entering the labour market.

Unemployment

The seasonally adjusted average number of unemployed persons according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) methodology ¹⁾ increased by 5.3 thousand persons in comparison to Q1 2012.

The number of unemployed persons reached 350.9 thousand (of which 180.6 thousand females) and the total number of the unemployed fell year-on-year by mere 0.5 thousand persons. The y-o-y decline in unemployment was manifested in an insignificant way neither in the male population (drop by 0.8 thousand persons) nor in the female one (growth by 0.3 thousand persons).

Although there was a negligible decline in the total unemployment the number of persons unemployed for one year and longer, on the contrary, increased by 18.0 thousand and accounted for 155.4 thousand persons. The share of the long-term unemployed in the total number of unemployed persons already attained 44.3%.

The general unemployment rate according to the ILO definition (in the age group 15-64 years) reached 6.8% similarly as in Q2 2011. If broken down by educational attainment, university graduates permanently show a low unemployment rate (2.5%) and the same can be seen for the persons having secondary education with A-level examination (4.8%). A high unemployment rate pertains in the group of persons with basic education (28.3%), 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 (7.4%).

The different survey methodology led to a discrepancy between the general unemployment rate (ILO) and the registered unemployment rate by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the CR (MLSA CR). The development trend was similar in both the rates. The registered unemployment rate by the MLSA CR reached 8.4% in Q2 2012; that was by 0.1 percentage point less than a year ago.

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 2012 the number of such persons was 176.5 thousand, i.e. by 7.9 thousand lower than in the same period of 2011. Majority of persons willing to work, however, is not able to start in a potential job immediately. There are 55.9 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 - 217 million persons of the EU27 half billion population were working last year


Notes:
Responsible head at the CZSO: Dalibor Holý, phone: +42 0 274052694, e-mail: dalibor.holy@czso.cz
Contact person: Ondřej Nývlt, phone: +420 274054069, e-mail: ondrej.nyvlt@czso.cz
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 2011 and the prediction of the natural increase/decrease and the migration balance in 2011 and in Q1 2012. The results grossed up to the total population of the Czech Republic are not based on results of the 2011 Population and Housing Census.
End of data collection / End of preliminary data processing: 18 July 2012 / 25 July 2012
Related Internet-published document: e-3101-12 - “Employment and Unemployment in the Czech Republic as Measured by the Labour Force Sample Survey” ( /csu/czso/katalog-produktu ) with th e finalised survey results will be available on the CZSO website by the end of Q3 2012.
Next News Release shall be published on: 2 November 2012

Published: 03.08.2012
The data are valid as of the release date of the publication.