In December, the number of job seekers increased by 13,003 to a total of 354,314, and the unemployment rate increased to 4.8%. That is 47,836 more when compared to the same period of 2024.
Among the districts, unemployment was highest in the districts of Most (9.9 %), Karviná (9.6 %), Bruntál (8.5 %), Sokolov (7.8 %), Chomutov (7.6 %) and Ústí nad Labem (7.3 %) and lowest, i.e. below 3%, in the districts of Prague-East and Prague-West, but also in Rychnov nad Kněžnou.
Unemployment rate rose again in December. This is not unusual, as we have seen similar year-end increases over the past six years, though then at lower levels ranging from 3.5% to 4.1%. Overall, this year's rise in unemployment was higher than in previous years, even surpassing the pandemic period.
The increase was primarily driven by a slowdown in hiring, as many companies postponed recruitment from the second half of the month until the beginning of the new year due to the holidays. Additionally, some candidates preferred to enjoy their time off during the festive season, deferring interviews until January. This trend outweighed the year-end factors that traditionally lower unemployment, such as seasonal work in retail, e-commerce, and logistics.
A slight increase or stagnation in unemployment can also be expected in the first quarter, influenced by the end of seasonal jobs and fixed-term contracts that expired at year-end. On the other hand, the wave of broad-scale hiring typical for the first quarter will begin in January, partially offsetting the reduction in job positions.
As at the end of December 2025, the Czech Labour Office registered a total of 87,422 vacancies. That is 3,205 less than in the previous month. The absolute largest number of job vacancies are repeatedly offered by employers in Prague (21,698 positions) and the Central Bohemian Region (13,964 positions). On average, there were 4.1 applicants per vacancy, with the highest number of applicants in the districts of Karviná (21.1), Děčín (17.2), Sokolov (16.6), and Bruntál (14.6).
According to the Czech Labour Office records, employers are most frequently interested in construction laborers, forklift operators and warehouse workers, truck and heavy goods vehicle drivers, cooks, assembly workers, and cleaners.
Unlike the statistics on registered unemployed, data on job vacancies from the labor office do not provide a comprehensive picture of the entire labor market, as many positions are advertised and filled through other platforms and social networks.
In the 3rd quarter of 2025, the average gross nominal monthly salary* (hereinafter “average salary”) was CZK 48,295, which is CZK 3,194 (7.1%) higher than in the same period in 2024. Consumer prices increased by 2.5% during this period, and real wages increased by 4.5% as a result. The amount of salaries increased by 7.4%, and the number of employees grew by 0.3%. Compared to the previous quarter, the seasonally adjusted average salary grew by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter of 2025.
Compared to the same period of the previous year, the median salary (CZK 42,901) increased by 6.2%, which corresponds to CZK 45,502 for men and CZK 40,059 for women. Eighty percent of employees received salaries between CZK 22,559 and CZK 82,064.
source: MPSV, ČSÚ, ÚP ČR
* calculated to the number of employees in the national economy