Czech unemployment holds at 5 percent as expected autumn improvement fails

Czech unemployment remained at 5 percent in October for the fourth consecutive month, with analysts warning that the labor market failed to deliver its usual autumn improvement.

The Labor Office registered 370,226 jobseekers at the end of the month, up by 1,849 from September. Advertised vacancies also increased, reaching 106,252 after a monthly rise of 1,893.

Compared with October last year, the unemployment rate was 0.4 percentage points higher. The number of registered jobseekers rose by almost 30,000 over the same period, according to figures released Monday.

October is normally a relatively favorable month for jobseekers, Patria Finance chief economist Dominik Rusinko said.

Retailers and logistics companies recruit ahead of Christmas, while the slowdown in outdoor work generally has a greater effect in November and December.

“This year’s development therefore looks worse than would correspond to the usual seasonal pattern,” Rusinko said.

The Labor Office nevertheless emphasized continuing movement in the job market. Some 38,875 registered jobseekers started work during October, while 53,730 people newly registered as unemployed.

“October’s figures confirm that the labor market remains active,” Labor Office Director-General Roman Chlopčík said, pointing to the increase in vacancies and the number of people finding employment.

The registration and hiring figures do not translate directly into the monthly change in jobseekers, as people can also leave the register for reasons other than starting a job.

Deloitte chief economist David Marek highlighted the longer-term rise in unemployment. The rate stood at 4.6 percent in October 2025 and 3.8 percent in October 2024.

He said the figures suggested increasing structural unemployment, reflecting deeper mismatches in the labor market rather than seasonal changes alone.

That could ease pressure on wage growth and inflation, he added, while also weakening household demand.

Prague recorded the lowest unemployment rate among Czechia’s regions at 3.9 percent. The Ústí nad Labem Region had the highest, at 7.4 percent.

Rates increased by 0.1 percentage points from September in the Hradec Králové, Karlovy Vary, Ústí nad Labem, Liberec and Moravian-Silesian regions. They remained unchanged elsewhere.

The differences were even greater at district level.

Karviná and Most jointly recorded the highest unemployment rate, at 10.5 percent. By contrast, rates remained below 3 percent in Prague-East, Prague-West and Rychnov nad Kněžnou.

Nationwide, both registered unemployment and advertised vacancies were higher than a year earlier. In October 2025, the Labor Office recorded 340,509 jobseekers and 93,999 available positions, compared with approximately 370,000 jobseekers and 106,000 vacancies this October.