Lots of unfilled jobs at the start of the summer

Labor Offices in Prague and Central Bohemia are looking for a high number of people this year to fill jobs. Builders and cooks in particular are in demand.

In Prague, there are some 33,699 job openings. Central Bohemia has a bit fewer, at 22,238 in May, according to Labor Offices.

The unemployment rate was less than 2 percent in the Prague-East district. Prague-West and Benešov had an unemployment rate of 2.8 percent. Mladá Boleslav, where Škoda Auto is the largest employer in the Czech Republic, also had low unemployment. In Prague, the unemployment rate was 2.9 percent. The Kladno area had the highest unemployment in the region.

Despite many openings, some people still can't find work due to a lack of sufficient skills. The most frequent visitors to labor offices in May were low-skilled people with basic or secondary vocational education, an apprenticeship certificate or a secondary education with a school-leaving certificate. The average age of an unemployed person was 42.8 years.

Those with the biggest problem finding work were in the fields of manufacturing, sales, general administration, bricklaying and delivery driving. On the other hand employers have been seeking builders, truck drivers and chefs.

Labor offices have been offering retraining courses to help people get the available jobs. Most people choose courses focusing on basic computer skills, professional driving certification, welding and accounting.

Summer jobs, or brigade work, is also currently available. Students have offers ranging from a vendor at a fast food and ice cream stand, a gardener, a children's camp instructor and a waiter or waitress.

In Prague in 2014 there were 7.2 people for every job opening. In May 2017 according to the Labor Office, there was 0.8 people per job opening, though the situation was even stiffer in 1997, when there was 0.3 people per job opening.

The number of unemployed in Prague fell from 45,874 in 2014 to 26,863 in May 2017. The unemployment rate fell from 5.3 percent in 2014 to 2.9 percent in May 2017. It had been 0.5 percent in 1997. The number of unfilled job openings was 6,370 in 2014 and, as stated, 33,699 in May 2017.