Unemployment.
Unemployment in the Czech Republic has long been well below five percent. The highest was at the beginning of the year, at 4.3 percent. Since then, it has been visibly falling, down to 3.6 per cent. This is a problem for the economy, although not a new one and certainly not the only one. This trend, which has been going on for a number of years, has its positive but rather negative aspects. First the positive ones. From the employee's point of view, it is easier to demand higher pay for work, because there is no queue on the street from which anyone is happy to take work even for lower pay. It is possible to insist on bonuses, benefits, longer holidays, the possibility of taking unpaid leave, etc. Moreover, there is no need to be stressed about failing to do something, because the employer will simply think twice before giving someone immediate notice for failing to complete a task. Perhaps the only advantage of a low unemployment rate for employers is the fact that there is a kind of social peace and disgruntled, unemployed workers are not massing outside the gates of factories trying to climb the fences around the plants with guns in hand. However, this state of affairs is a major problem for entire industries and is, in effect, a burden on the entire national economy. Extremely low unemployment does not create the pressure for the necessary savings in the form of slower wage growth, and thus helps to spin the inflationary spiral. This is particularly true in times of crisis, stagnation and depression. This is compounded by some specific regional effects. The current shortage of foreigners is causing a difficult employment situation in some sectors, plus seasonal factors such as the expiry of fixed-term contracts and several weeks of winter holidays with uncertainty of return from some countries are subtly approaching. Various Covid support programmes, state support, the so-called "isolation", compensation, alternative subsidy programmes, etc. are also playing a role. The inappropriate timing and diversification of these instruments preserves passivity and blocks development. All of this, taken together, cannot create a healthy unemployment rate that could help the economy and, along with further austerity and some tax measures, could put the brakes on the trends we are watching with concern.