Foreigners now make up more than 25% of Prague’s workforce

Approximately 200,000 workers and employees in Prague come from outside the Czech Republic, according to a report by the city’s Institute of Planning and Development (IPR) released earlier this month.

Given the city’s total workforce of approximately 700,000, that means that more than a quarter of the total number of workers in the Czech capital comes from a foreign country. The foreign-born workforce makes up roughly 15% of Prague’s total population of around 1.3 million.

The IPR data is based on official labor office data and includes foreigners with both employee cards and trade licenses working in Prague.

“Foreigners have become an irreplaceable source of labor for Prague, and more flexible than the domestic labor force,” an IPR spokesperson stated in a press release.

“They are able to accept some less-attractive employment conditions.”

At nearly 70,000 registered workers, Slovaks make up the biggest chunk of foreign workers in Prague. They’re followed by Ukrainians (nearly 50,000) and Russians (10,000).

There are officially 2,554 citizens from the USA among Prague’s registered workforce, and 4,057 Britons. Citizens from Poland (5,568), Hungary (3,772), France (3,176), Italy (3,072), and Germany (2,775) were also common among Prague’s workforce.

“You will almost certainly not speak Czech in our office,” Martin, who works in IT, told Pražský Deník.

“My colleagues come from Britain, Ukraine and Costa Rica. You can not manage without English.”

The 200,000 foreign nationals working in Prague in 2017 represents a 100% increase over just seven years ago. In 2010, there were 103,749 foreigners working in the Czech capital.

Among the 20 most common foreign nationalities working in Prague, only the number of Vietnamese has decreased during the last seven years, with 123 less citizens of Vietnam now working in Prague.

Foreign women are also making big waves in Prague. A decade ago, women made up only 25% of the total number of foreign workers in the Czech capital, but that number is now up to 42%.

“Prague is an attractive destination for foreigners, both in terms of quality of life and career opportunities,” Jitka Součková, marketing manager at Grafton Recruitment, told Pražský Deník.

“This is not only about workers from EU Member States but also from other countries, such as Ukraine, Serbia and the Philippines.”