The Czech employment outlook is below the global average, but showing a trend of improvement
Prague, 9th September 2025 – A positive but below-average employment outlook is forecast in the Czech Republic for the upcoming quarter, with a Net Employment Outlook (NEO) of 15 points. Czech organizations report the NEO to rise by 2 points compared to last quarter and 4 points since this time last year. The Czech Republic is ranked among the bottom half of countries for its employment expectations, 8 points below the global average.
“While overall recruitment activity remains stable in the fourth quarter, we are seeing more significant movements in some sectors. The weakest expectations are in industry, logistics, and the public sector. Manufacturing in the automotive and engineering industries is experiencing a decline in orders due to sluggish demand in Western European markets, while the public sector is facing constraints resulting from budget cuts. In contrast, healthcare, financial services, and the B2B services sector remain the most optimistic in the long term, and it is here that we are seeing continued investment in recruitment and people development. In IT, the outlook remains cautious but still positive, with companies curbing demand for support roles but deliberately increasing capacity in cybersecurity, data analytics, cloud systems management, and artificial intelligence implementation. Thus, even at the end of the year, employers are balancing savings with targeted investments in a skilled workforce.
Industry sector comparisons
Czech organizations in all 9 sectors expect increasing staffing levels in the next quarter. Compared to last quarter, staffing environments have increased in 5 sectors, decreased in 3, and remained steady in 1 sector. Similarly, hiring intentions have strengthened in 5 sectors and weakened in 4 compared to this quarter last year.
The Czech Republic’s most competitive sector is Energy & Utilities, with an employment outlook of 41. The sector recovers from the low outlooks reported in past quarters, increasing by 43 points since last quarter and 41 points since this time last year. In fact, this quarter marks the highest NEO recorded in the Czech Energy & Utilities sector since tracking began in Q1 2023. Globally, the Czech Republic ranks second for its outlook in Energy & Utilities, above the sector’s average by 21 points.
Regional comparisons
Czech employers in all 3 regions expect an increase in staffing levels in the upcoming quarter. Since last quarter, hiring intentions have strengthened in 1 region, weakened in 1, and seen no change in 1. Since this quarter last year, employment expectations have strengthened in 2 regions and weakened in 1.
The most competitive region in the Czech Republic is Bohemia, which has a NEO of 15. Although expectations in this region have decreased by 3 points since last quarter, they have increased by 12 points compared to this time last year.
Meanwhile, the region experiencing the greatest growth since last quarter is Moravia, with an 8-point increase, now reaching an overall outlook of 14 points.
Organisation size comparisons
All 6 organization sizes forecast increasing staffing levels in the upcoming quarter. Since the previous quarter and Q4 2024, employment outlooks have strengthened in 3 organization sizes and weakened in 3.
Czech employers in medium-sized organizations with 50 to 249 employees are the most optimistic with a NEO of 19, rising by 1 point since last quarter and 5 points since Q4 2024.
Meanwhile, large organizations with 250 to 999 employees report the greatest growth in expectations since last quarter, with a 9-point increase. These large organizations now have the overall outlook of 18 points for the upcoming quarter.
Global overviews
The Q4 2025 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey (MEOS) collected responses from 40,533 hiring decision-makers across 42 countries and territories during July 2025. At this time, the global economy was sluggish, characterized by ongoing concerns about the U.S. tariffs hindering trade and reducing demand, particularly in key sectors like manufacturing. Under these circumstances, organizations expressed hesitancy to expand their workforce, reflecting a cautious approach among employers as they deal with these complex challenges.
The seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook (NEO) fell to 23, weakening slightly by 1 point from last quarter and 2 points this time last year. While the outlook was stable at the beginning of 2025, the last two quarters have shown a slight cooling. Although the global job market still appears resilient, there are signs of softening. Indeed, over half of the surveyed countries and territories reported a decline in their outlooks from last quarter.
About the survey
The Employment Outlook Survey – conducted in October 2021 – is the most comprehensive, forward-looking employment survey of its kind, used globally as a key economic indicator. The Net Employment Outlook is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity and subtracting from this the percentage of employers expecting a decrease in hiring activity.
Commentary is based on seasonally adjusted data where available. Full survey results for each of the 42 countries and territories included in this quarter’s survey, plus regional and global comparisons, can be found in the ManpowerGroup Press Room at www.manpowergroup.com/meos. In addition, all tables and graphs from the full report are available to be downloaded for use in publication or broadcast from the ManpowerGroup Web site at: https://www.manpowergroup.com/press/meos.cfm
ManpowerGroup has also released its ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey Explorer tool, a new interactive way to examine and compare its data. The tool can be viewed at https://www.manpowergroupsolutions.com/DataExplorer/
This survey is conducted quarterly to measure employers’ intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter. The Czech Republic is one of 42 countries and territories participating in the quarterly measurement of employer hiring intentions. The survey for Quarter 4 2025 was conducted by interviewing a representative sample of 525 employers in the Czech Republic and asking the same question: “How do you anticipate total employment at your location to change in the three months to the end of December 2025 as compared to the current quarter?”
The global ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey has been running for 60 years, and uses a validated methodology in accordance with the highest standards in market research. This survey helps to identify the hiring intentions of both regional and industry sector employers, and facilitates preparation for labor market pressures.
The next ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey featuring the forecast for the 4Q 2025 period will be published on 9th December 2025.
About ManpowerGroupTM
ManpowerGroup® (NYSE: MAN), the leading global workforce solutions company, helps organizations transform in a fast-changing world of work by sourcing, assessing, developing and managing the talent that enables them to win. We develop innovative solutions for hundreds of thousands of organizations every year, providing them with skilled talent while finding meaningful, sustainable employment for millions of people across a wide range of industries and skills. Our expert family of brands – Manpower, Experis and Talent Solutions – creates substantially more value for candidates and clients across more than 75 countries and territories and has done so for over 70 years. We are recognized consistently for our diversity – as a best place to work for Women, Inclusion, Equality and Disability and in 2024 ManpowerGroup was named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the 16th year – all confirming our position as the brand of choice for in-demand talent.
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About ManpowerGroup Czech Republic
Through a network of over 21 offices, we provide staff (nearly 24,000) for around 1,000 clients. With employment opportunities in the public and private sector, on both a permanent and temporary basis, we make it easy for people to find employment and for companies to find staff with the skills they need. Solutions include permanent and temporary positions, holiday, maternity or sick coverage, through to large workforce transformation and outsourcing contracts.
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