Czech companies struggle to fill ICT positions as labour shortages grow

Brno, Czech Republic – Labour shortages are one of the main challenges facing companies established in the Czech Republic today, particularly in the ICT sector.

As the country boasts the lowest unemployment rate in the EU and highest job vacancy rate, businesses face increasing difficulties to find applicants and fill open positions. The situation is particularly dire in some specific industries and sectors, including ICT (information and communication technology) jobs.

According to Eurostat data, released last week, 79% of Czech companies that recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists had trouble filling in those vacancies. This is the highest rate in the EU and nearly 30 percentage points higher than the European average (53%).

Difficulties to fill open ICT positions in the Czech Republic increased by 12 percentage points compared to the previous year, the highest year-on-year increase among EU member states alongside the likes of France and Romania.

Other countries struggling to find qualified candidates with the right ICT skill-set include Austria (78%), Malta (73%) Luxembourg (71%) and the Netherlands (69%).

Companies in both Hungary and Slovakia (60% each) also identify ICT-recruitment as a significant challenge, contrary to Poland, where only 37% of companies have reported difficulties in filling ICT open job positions.

Although the Czech Republic is considered one of the most stable economies in Europe and has ranked among the fastest-growing EU countries over the last few years, Czech growth is expected to slow down in 2019 and 2020, possibly easing labour market tensions, according to some analysts.