The unemployment rate in the Czech Republic edged up to 7.5% in July 2013 from 7.3% as fresh school graduates entered the market, data from the labour ministry showed. The reading was in line with market expectations and higher than last year’s level of 6.5%. The indicator shows the share of jobless people aged between 15 and 64 and immediately able to start work versus all working people in the same demographic group.

Unemployment among women slightly increased to 7.7% in July from 7.4% in June, while among men it stayed at 7.3% for the second straight month.

The number of jobseekers stood at 551,096 as of end-July 2013, or by 10,623 more than at end-June and BY 65,887 higher from the same month of 2012. Job vacancies in the seventh month of 2013 fell by 3,857 on the month and were by 918 fewer on the year at 40,175. Thus, there were 13.7 jobseekers per vacancy, down from 12.3 in June.

In July, the number of available job seekers, showing how many people registered as unemployed by labour offices are able to start work shortly, in the 15-64 age group, stood at 536,679, up from 525,100 in the previous month.

IntelliNews comment: After falling for four months in a row, the unemployment rate in the country of 10.5mn increased in July as thousands of newly-graduated students entered the labour market and the effect of seasonal work has already been exhausted. The number of unemployed Czechs will continue to increase in the months to come as companies remain wary of hiring new work amid the recessionary economy. The Czech labour market is also suffering from falling wages. Real wages in the country dropped by 2.2% y/y in the first quarter of 2013 as nominal wages decreased for the first time in more than a decade.