Recruiters, here are your candidates. How to utilize unemployment data to create recruitment strategies

Source: tradingeconomics.com

But to effectively recruit you need to know when, where, and who you should be recruiting. Here is a breakdown of unemployment in Czech over the years, regions, and demographics to help demonstrate how unemployment data can be utilized as recruitment knowledge. 

Over the years

Just as unemployment rates change, recruiting strategies do too. From 2020 to 2022 unemployment rates in Czechia had lots of fluctuation and change. 2020 displayed a continuous rise in unemployment beginning the year at 3.1% and ending the year at 4%. 2021 began the year with the highest unemployment rate of 4.3%. Therefore, recruiting strategies used in 2020 and 2021 were different from the ones used today. The 2020 environment was less competitive for recruiters. Positions were in demand and if you could offer a remote and Covid-19-friendly position, it was going to be easy to fill it. But March 2021 showed a change in employment, unemployment rates were dropping. 

By the beginning of 2022 unemployment was 0.7% lower than the previous year’s 3.6%. June 2022 brought unemployment back to an all-time low of the last 3 years, 3.1%. While this demonstrates a growing and happy economy for Czechia, it also changes the playing field for recruiters. Recruiters need to be aware that it is not the same playing field as 2020. 

Recruitment needs to now show how your offer is unique. Make your position cater to a specific candidate more than a competing offer because in 2022 a qualified candidate will have competing offers. Recruitment needs to be targeted and personalized for each candidate. 

TIP! Check out tips on how to create a job post that will attract your ideal candidate or learn more about non-traditional ways of recruitment.  

Regions 

While Czechia flourishes as a nation with low unemployment rates, this success is not felt equally across the entire nation. Here is how unemployment differs by region in Czechia. 

The majority of Czech regions had an unemployment rate of around 3.2%* at the end of June 2022. However, this was mainly applied to central Czechia while bordering regions suffered much more. The northern region of Ústecký kraj is among the worst in the country at 4.9%* unemployment and the surrounding regions of Karlovarský Kraj and Liberecký kraj also have higher rates of 3.6%* (for Karlovarský) and 3.3%* (for Liberecký). The eastern edge of the nation has similar struggling statistics. The region of Moravskoslezský Kraj has the second highest unemployment in the nation at 4.7%* and the southern region of Jihomoravský kra is also much higher at 3.6%*. This is valuable information to a recruiter. You now know that the best place to search for new candidates is around the borders. These regions are going to be more receptive to new opportunities for employment and have many more people applying for open positions.  

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When it comes to towns and cities, the industrial town of Karviná suffers the most with 8.0%* unemployment. Like Karviná located in Moravskoslezský Kraj, the towns with high unemployment are typically located in suffering border regions. Karviná used to be a thriving coal mining sector but now it is the big cities and modern communities that offer the most employment. Specifically, Praha-západ and Praha-východ had the lowest levels of unemployment in the country with Praha-západ at 1.5%* and only 1.1%* unemployed in Praha-východ, as of June 30th, 2022. A recruiter should see this as an opportunity to hire from these smaller towns and bordering regions. This will enable an entirely new population of candidates.  

TIP! If you are looking for a potential candidates for a remote work, don't forget to ask these questions during your interview.

Demographics 

A) Age

When examining how age affects unemployment, it is easiest to break the working class into three sectors, under 25 years old, from 25 to 54, and 55 to 64. Out of these sectors, the middle-aged are typically the most employed. 

In the EU, 25 to 54 year olds experience only 6.4 percent* unemployment. In Czechia, there is just 2.6 percent* unemployment for this demographic. However, Czechia is unique by having the lowest level of unemployment for older adults from 55 to 64 instead of those from 25 to 54. For older adults, unemployment is lower than that of the middle-aged by 0.2%. This displays that Czechia's workforce stays employed into an older age than the typical EU nation. This leaves the youth to be the highest percentage of unemployed. In November 2022 unemployment for those 25 and younger was at 6.5 percent* for Czechia. Since this is the highest demographic of unemployed, recruiters need to focus their efforts on the younger workforce. 

Attract the younger crowd by campaigning through social media, marketing for beginner roles, and offering ways to gain qualifications. This way you will not only be recruiting the most available demographic but also investing in employees that could be with your company for years to come.   

B) Gender

In general, men have higher employment rates than women. In November 2021 men in the EU were at around 6.3% unemployment while women had 6.8%. Czechia displays this same pattern of men finding employment easier. In fact, Czechia men stand out with the most dramatically low unemployment rate of only 1.9 percent*. A sharp contrast from the demographic with the highest unemployment in the EU, Spanish men at 12.7 percent (November 2021). 

However, Czechia women experience 0.8 percent more unemployment than Czech men, being 2.7 percent* unemployed. Czechia demonstrates some of the lowest levels of unemployment in the EU, but cannot demonstrate this success equally across genders. In fact, Czechia displays a wider gap between the unemployment levels of men and women than the average of the EU. Recruiters need to be aware of this gender divide. 

These statistics should generate questions about how to reach more women, what positions are lacking equality among gender, and how to better engage the female workforce. 

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Statistics on unemployment will forever be changing and developing, but as a recruiter, it is important to be aware of the current situation. Currently, recruitment strategies should be competitive and personalized, reaching out to the people in boarding regions and towns, and targeting the younger and female workforce. We hope this article helped you utilize unemployment data to create recruitment strategies that will bring you qualified candidates. 

* Based on information from June 2022.