Unemployment figures in the Czech Republic remain unchanged at 3 percent in March despite the fact that the quarantine regulations kicked in halfway through the month. But the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Jana Maláčová warned that the numbers were likely to rise dramatically in the coming weeks. There were 225,700 people without work at the end of March, slightly less than the 227,400 a month before. “We were expecting the numbers, they’re pleasing. But we have to wait until April. That will show how companies and the whole labor market have reacted,” she said. Her ministry is expecting unemployment to rise by roughly 5 percent. Filip Matějka warned that unemployment figures in the Czech Republic will grow the most it’s ever done in history during April. “At the moment, the main concern should be emergency help to make sure people have enough to eat and solve the systemic things later,” he said.
