Employment and unemployment as measured by the LFS - 3. quarter of 2015

 
Employment
In Q3 2015 the seasonally adjusted average number of employed persons increased by 6.7 thousand persons, compared to Q2 2015.

The number of employed persons increased by 65.4 thousand (i.e. by 1.3%), y-o-y, to reach 5 060.3 thousand persons. The number of the self-employed in the main job, including family workers, in total fell by 18.4 thousand to 871.6 thousand persons compared to Q3 2014 and their share was 17.2%. Within the whole European Union, however, the Czech Republic has been over a long term belonging to countries having the highest shares of the self-employed. The number of the self-employed with employees grew by 6.9 thousand to attain 178.2 thousand persons while the number of the self-employed without employees, i.e. the own-account workers, decreased by 27.0 thousand to 664.6 thousand persons. On the contrary, compared to Q3 2014, the number of the employees, including members of producer cooperatives, significantly increased by 83.7 thousand to reach 4 188.7 thousand and their share was 82.8% of total employment.

A growth in total employment was in a significant manner demonstrated in the tertiary sector of services (50.1 thousand persons). The number of working persons grew, first of all, in the economic activities sections of wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles and professional, scientific and technical activities. The increase in the number of working persons in the secondary sector increased was just minimum (mere 3.0 thousand persons). The number of working persons in manufacturing grew by 34.8 thousand yet the number of working persons in construction declined by 27.7 thousand. Compared to Q3 2014 the number of working persons in the primary sector grew by 11.9 thousand.

The employment rate (percentage of the employed in the age group 15‑64 years) reached 70.5% and grew by 1.2 p.p. compared to Q3 2014. That means it reached the highest value in the sample survey history since 1993. The male employment rate increased by 0.6 p.p. to reach 78.2%. Improved labour market conditions projected mostly in a dynamic growth in the female employment rate that grew by 1.8 p.p. to attain 62.6%.

Unemployment
The seasonally adjusted average number of unemployed persons according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) methodology¹⁾ decreased by 11.4 thousand persons in comparison to Q2 2015.

The number of unemployed persons reached 257.2 thousand (of which 141.0 thousand females) and the total number of the unemployed dropped by 55.4 thousand persons, y-o-y. The decline in unemployment was manifested more in females (by 29.9 thousand persons) than in males (by 25.6 thousand persons). The number of persons unemployed for one year and longer declined by 11.6 thousand, y-o-y and the total number of them reached 124.9 thousand persons.

The general unemployment rate according to the ILO definition in the age group 15-64 years (the share of the unemployed in the labour force, i.e. the sum of the employed and the unemployed) decreased by 1.0 p.p. compared to the previous year and thus dropped even below the five-percent level to reach 4.9% in Q3 2015. There was a lower value of the general unemployment rate solely at the peak of the economic boom in all quarters of 2008 and in the first half of 1997 before.

If broken down by educational attainment, university graduates permanently show a low unemployment rate (2.4%) and the same can be seen for the persons having secondary education with A-level examination (3.4%). A high unemployment rate pertains in the group of persons with primary education (21.9%), yet, on the other hand, the unemployment rate substantially declined in the large group of those having secondary education without A-level examination, including persons with apprenticeship certificates (5.5%).

Inactivity
In the sample survey, data are collected also on persons, who do not work and do not seek a job in an active manner, and thus do not comply with the ILO conditions for the unemployed, yet they state they would like to be working. In Q3 2015 the number of such persons was 137.1 thousand, i.e. by 8.1 thousand lower than in the same period of 2014. Majority of persons willing to work, however, is not able to start in a potential job immediately. There are 59.1 thousand persons able to start in a job within a fortnight, at the latest.

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