Labour Market Initiatives Perspective from Czech Republic

1. Labour Market InitiativesPerspective from Czech Republic EMF IPC Summer School August 2010

2. Special Governmental Measures in Crises – 2 Projects Ministry of Labour implemented extraordinary projects aimed to keeping the employment, increase of the educational level of employees and competition of companies.

3. 1.Project – Appeal „Education is a chance“ • Support via granted projects • Applications from the side of employers • Available volume of money = total 1,8 mld. CZK • Applications could be presented to Ministry till the end of 2009

4. 1.Project – Appeal „Education is a chance“ – covered costs • Education, wage reimbursement including social and health insurance during the whole period of education • Support can reach the level of 100 % of total costs; financial involvement employers (certain % of their financial means) • Level of support depends upon the type of education (general/specific), size of the company and the public system support

5. 2. Project „Be Educated!“ • Support via providing benefit to cover costs linked with special skilled development of employees • Begin of the project – March 2009 • Available volume of money = total 1,5 mld. CZK • Applications could be presented to Ministry till the June 2011 • Use of financial resources from the Operational Program „Human Resources Development“ and „Human resources and Employment“

6. 2. Project „Be Educated!“ Aims of the Project • Target group are employers who are due to the recession pushed to limit the production in their companies and their employees.   • Employers can get financial means to finance education of employees endangered by the negative impacts of crises

7. 2. Project „Be Educated!“ Employers will receive financial support for education, wage reimbursement including social and health insurance during the whole period of education

8. Active employment policy • Based on „Programs of active employment policy implementation for the year 2009“ • specific of regional labour markets • structure of applicants for jobs in evidence of Labour offices • volume of financial means in the framework of approved budget • Labour offices respected the aims of the employment policy determined by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

9. Groups of unemployed supported by Labour offices • youth till the age of 20 • older people above 50 • women • long term unemployed (in evidence longer than 5 months) • individuals taking care about child (age till 15) • persons hit by the recent economic recession

10. Labour offices should also aim to: • strengthen active cooperation with employers, public services at all levels • support of employment of handicapped people • active involvement of education and advisory institutions • active work with students and their parents – selection of professions (missing at labour market)

11. Labour offices should also aim to: • support of women – removing obstacles limiting participation of women at labour market • support of retraining – to strengthen long term employment • support of jobs which makes it possible to get new skills and competences • use European Social Fund means to implement national and regional projects financed by Operational Program „Human Resources and Employment“

12. Labour market in 2009 • decrease of economic performance, increase of unemployment • share of applicants receiving unemployment benefit increased from 33,7 % to 40,4 % (109 400 to 188 100 people) • number of registered applicants for jobs at Labour offices = 824 000 people (people above 50 year and youth till 25 years) • problems with applicants with lower education

13. Labour market in 2009 • number of long term unemployed (longer than 12 months) raised from 101 500 (end of 2008) to 123 900 (end of 2009) • average monthly unemployment benefit increased from 5468 CZK = 219 EUR (2008) to 5745 CZK = 230 EUR(2009) • number of free jobs decreased from 91 200 (2008) to 30 900 (2009)

14. Results of active employment policy in 2009 • number of new created jobs = 39 915 (41,3 % increase in comparison with 2008) • community service jobs • protected work rooms • protected jobs • retraining (38,9 applicants)

15. Situation at Labour Market – end of 2009 • registered unemployment rate 9,2 % (women 10,3 %, men 8,4 %) = 539 136 people • 6,6 % graduates (youth) • 12,6 handicapped • number of available jobs 30 927 = 17 applicants per 1 job

16. Foreigners at Labour Market – end of 2009 • number of employed foreign workers in Czech Republic = 230 709 • 98 192 Slovakia • 20 278 Poland • 4 578 Bulgaria • 48 805 Ukraine • 5 149 Moldavia • 3 573 Mongolia • 2 109 Vietnam • number of registered unemployed 6 613

17. Unemployment rate in individual regions (31.12.2009)

18. Number of applicants to one free job (31.12.2009)

19. Share of foreign workers with work permissions in the labour force (31.12.2009)

20. Concrete implementation • Community service jobs: • preserving working activity of applicants for jobs before finding a new job • ensuring work for unskilled and problematic applicants • type of job: cleaning jobs, support work, day care services in charitable and social areas

21. Concrete implementation • Socially advisable jobs: • creation of new jobs, including self-employment for groups endangered by long term unemployment (youth till 25 years, older than 50 years, women with small children and workers with health certificate)

22. Concrete implementation • Protected work rooms and protected jobs: • employment of handicapped persons • assistance towards operational costs of work rooms or per protected job (fully or partially) • this possibility is not used so often

23. Concrete implementation • Retraining: • most effective tool • specific retraining based upon requests of employers and monitoring of labour market usually led to employment of given person • unspecific retraining aimed to enlargement of knowledge and deepening the possibility of general utilization (job opportunities)