Total employment in the Q4 2021 increased by 43.0 thousand persons, year-on-year (y-o-y). The number of the unemployed, according to the methodology of the International Labour Organization (ILO), decreased by 43.4 thousand persons. The number of the economically inactive aged 15+ years decreased by 29.1 thousand.
 

Employment

In the Q4 2021, the seasonally adjusted average number of employed persons increased by 4.0 thousand persons, compared to the Q3 2021.

The number of working persons aged 15+ years increased by 43.0 thousand persons, y-o-y, i.e. by 0.8%, to 5 259.4 thousand persons. It is mainly return of females to the labour market that contributed to the increase. The number of working females increased by 32.5 thousand persons, year-on-year, whereas the number of working males increased by 10.5 thousand. The total number of the self-employed decreased by 35.9 thousand persons, namely due to a decrease in the number of the self-employed without employees (own-account workers) by 25.0 thousand. The number of the self-employed with employees (employers) also decreased, by 10.9 thousand. The number of contributing family workers decreased, too, by 8.1 thousand persons. On the other hand, the number of employees increased by 87.0 thousand to 4 423.3 thousand.

In the age structure of working persons, the importance of a group of those born in the 1970’s, the so-called Husák’s children, is increasing. The ten year age group of the 40–49 years old makes almost a third of all working persons. Their percentage in the total employment is 31.3% (it is 33.4% as for females and 29.5% as for males). An overall process of ageing of the population of working persons is demonstrated by the development of the number of working persons namely in that ten year age group. While the number of people in their lower forties decreased by 24.6 thousand, y-o-y, in the group of the 45–49 years old the increase was the highest, by 33.8 thousand. The influence of this shift in the age structure will significantly influence the age structure of the employed in the years to come. A question is how a prospective increase of employment of foreign nationals will be reflected in the age structure of working persons.

According to data for the Q4 2021, the development of employment in individual economic activities (CZ-NACE sections) in the Czech Republic was different¹⁾. The employment decreased in the secondary sector of industry and construction (by 31.7 thousand to 1 902.4 thousand), mainly due to a decrease in the number of working persons in manufacturing (by 27.1 thousand). Whereas the number of working persons in industry decreased, the number of working persons in construction increased, y-o-y (by 14.6 thousand). In the tertiary sector of services, the total employment increased by 76.2 thousand to 3 220.9 thousand. As for this sector, the number of working persons especially increased in the section of ‘education’ (by 30.0 thousand), ‘wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles’ (by 16.7 thousand), ‘information and communication’ (by 16.6 thousand), and in the section of ‘financial and insurance activities’ (by 12.6 thousand). On the other hand, the employment in the sector of services considerably decreased in the section of ‘human health and social work activities’ (by 11.2 thousand), where there was a high base a year ago as a consequence of the pandemic situation, and also in ‘administrative and support service activities’ (by 6.8 thousand). In the primary sector of agriculture, forestry and fishing, the number of working persons remained almost unchanged (a decrease by 1.8 thousand to 135.9 thousand).

The development of the number of working persons according to the Classification of Occupations (CZ-ISCO) corresponds to the development of employment in individual sections of economic activities (industries). The number of working persons increased the most in the major group of professionals (by 79.2 thousand) and in the major group of managers (by 52.4 thousand). On the other hand, the number of working persons among the following decreased: craft and related trades workers (by 35.2 thousand) and technicians and associate professionals (by 24.4 thousand); the number of working persons in elementary occupations significantly decreased (by 12.8 thousand).

The development trend in the number of working persons according to the educational attainment is also related to those changes in the employment structure. The number of working persons with tertiary education considerably increased, by 111.8 thousand. On the other hand, the number of employed persons in both the most numerous groups of persons with secondary education without A-level examination and with A-level examination decreased. The number of the employed with secondary education without A-level examination decreased by 21.0 thousand and the number of working persons with secondary education with A-level examination decreased by 28.8 thousand. The number of working persons with primary education also decreased, by 20.1 thousand.

The employment rate (the percentage of working persons in the age group of 15–64 years old) increased in the Q4 2021 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year by 1.1 percentage point (p. p.) to 75.4%. The male employment rate increased by 0.8 p. p. to 82.1% and the female employment rate by 1.3 p. p. to 68.3%.
 

Unemployment

The seasonally adjusted average number of unemployed persons according to the ILO methodology²⁾ decreased in the Q4 2021 by 19.8 thousand persons, compared to that in the Q3 2021.

The total number of the unemployed aged 15+ years decreased by 43.4 thousand, y-o-y, and reached 118.3 thousand persons. Primarily the number of the unemployed females decreased by 26.8 thousand to 62.1 thousand, whereas the decrease in the number of the unemployed males was lower (by 16.7 thousand to 56.1 thousand). The number of the unemployed decreased the most in the Hl. m. Praha Region (by 12.3 thousand) and in the Středočeský Region (by 10.4 thousand). On the other hand, the highest year-on-year increase was in the Moravskoslezský Region (by 4.1 thousand). The number of persons unemployed for one year and longer increased by 18.2 thousand persons, y-o-y, and reached 52.8 thousand persons.

The general unemployment rate according to the ILO definition in the age group of 15–64 years old (the percentage of the unemployed in the labour force, i.e. in the sum of the employed and the unemployed) decreased by 0.8 p. p. to 2.3% in the Q4 2021, year-on-year.

In terms of a regional comparison, the general unemployment rate was the highest in the Moravskoslezský Region (4.0%), in the Karlovarský Region (3.8%) and in the Ústecký Region (3.5%). However, the biggest decrease in the unemployment rate of the aged 15–64 years was in the Karlovarský Region (by 2.4 p. p to 3.8%) and in the Hl. m. Praha Region (by 1.8 p. p. to 1.4%). The Jihočeský Region had the lowest unemployment rate in Czechia (1.1%).
 

Economic inactivity

The number of economically inactive persons aged 15+ years decreased by 29.1 thousand, year-on-year, to 3 580.8 thousand. The number of economically inactive females decreased by 16.9 thousand; the number of economically inactive males dropped by 12.2 thousand. The number of all the economically inactive including children up to 15 years of age decreased by 25.1 thousand to 5 302.7 thousand.

In the sample survey, data are also collected on persons who do not work and do not seek a job in an active manner and therefore do not comply with the ILO conditions for the unemployed, yet they state that they would like to work. In the Q4 2021, the number of such persons was 64.5 thousand persons, i.e. by 31.2 thousand persons less than in the corresponding period of 2020. The number of persons who are willing to work, however, they are not able to start in a potential job immediately, is relatively high. Only 18.5 thousand of the persons are able to start in a job within a fortnight, at the latest.
 

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¹⁾ Data for the aforementioned economic activities sections may be influenced by the applied methodology of the Labour Force Sample Survey (LFSS). The survey only covers persons living in dwellings (flats), i.e. private households. Data for persons living in collective accommodation establishments are not measured; these establishments often give accommodation to foreign nationals.

²⁾ The ILO methodology defines the unemployed as persons who during the reference period were without a job, did not work an hour for pay or remuneration, and were in an active manner seeking job they would be able to join within fortnight at the latest. This methodology is uniform for all EU Member States and provides internationally comparable data. It should be noted that the definition of “the unemployed” by the ILO differs from the definition of “job applicants kept in the register of the labour offices” of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

Notes:

Responsible head at the CZSO: Dalibor Holý, Director 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 using data of the population statistics as at 1 January 2021 and the prediction of the natural population change and net migration in 2021.
End of data collection: 21 January 2022
End of preliminary data processing: 27 January 2022
Related Internet-published document: 250129-21 - “Employment and Unemployment in the Czech Republic as Measured by the Labour Force Sample Survey – quarterly data” with the final survey results will be available on the CZSO website by the end of the Q1 2022. (Home - We publish - Catalogue of Products - Employment and Unemployment)
Next News Release will be published on: 4 May 2022