Slovakia paradox: no one is working in the west, and the unemployed in the east are competing for vacancies!

Slovak companies still have problems recruiting employees, especially in the west of the country. The number of job vacancies in the country has exceeded 98,000, almost the highest level before the pandemic. However, the disposable unemployment rate remains at 5% for six months. Analysts at the Financial Policy Institute say some structural problems prevent it from decreasing further.

usable unemployment rate Slovakia’s growth rate stagnated at 5% in June. Analysts warn The Financial Policy Institute (IFP) believes that there are significant regional differences.

“In the west of the country we can find several regions with unemployment rates below 2.5%, with the lowest levels being in Trenčín and Piešňany, below 2.1%. However, at the other end of the country, the most problematic regions, such as Rimavská Sobota, Revúca, Rožňava and Kežmarok, still have unemployment rates above 8%.” Add to Invercarth.

The likelihood of a job applicant being hired depends on how intense the job is. labour market The labor market is facing structural problems that prevent further reduction of unemployment. On the one hand, analysts say there is a risk of severe overheating, especially in the western part of the country. The labor demand here cannot be met even by workers from abroad, who almost exclusively come from third countries outside the EU. The total number of foreigners working in Slovakia is currently stagnant at the level of 107,000.

On the other hand, the eastern region has a large number of unemployed people and an inadequate educational structure, with more than 40% of job seekers having either completed or only basic education.

Shortage of staff leads to increase in headcount Vacancies Over 98,000. “Most people have been missing for a long time, especially in industry. The demand for machine operators has increased by half compared to before the pandemic. As many as two-thirds of vacancies are in the western part of the country.” IFP analysts warned.

For example, in the Nitra and Bratislava regions, Job Offer In contrast, in the Gurnica and Stropkov regions, the number of job seekers exceeds the number of job vacancies by more than 40 times.

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