Czech unemployment rate edges up to 7.6% in Sept, in line with expectations.

By bne IntelliNews October 8, 2013

The unemployment rate in the Czech Republic edged up to 7.6% in September 2013 from 7.5% a month earlier, data from the labour ministry showed. The reading was in line with market expectations, according to a poll by CTK news agency, and higher than last year’s level of 6.6%. 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 stayed at 7.8% for the second straight month in September, while among men ticked higher to 7.4% from 7.3% in August.

The number of jobseekers stood at 557,058 as of end-September, or by 5,327 more than at end-August and by 63,873 higher from the same month of 2012. 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 541,847, up from 537,880 in the previous month.

Job vacancies in the ninth month of 2013 rose by 843 on the month but were 613 higher on the year at 41,422. Thus, there were 13.4 jobseekers per vacancy, down from 13.6 in August.

IntelliNews comment: The unemployment rate in the country of 10.5mn had been falling for four straight months till July when it rose to 7.5% mainly due to the influx of fresh school graduates. The slight increase observed in September will continue in the months to come with the end of seasonal work and due to the fact that companies remain wary of hiring new staff amid the fragile economy. The Czech labour market is also suffering from falling wages. Real wages in the country dropped by 0.3% y/y in the second quarter of 2013, following a 2.2% y/y drop in the first three months. The Czech economy, which exited an 18-month recession in Q2, is showing some signs of improvement but the recovery has to be more significant to result in a drop in unemployment.  

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