The Czech unemployment rate edged up to 5.2% in February 2026 from 5.1% in the previous month, slightly above the market expectation of 5.1%. This reflected the annual seasonal increase before the arrival of spring, bringing the jobless rate to its highest level since January 2017. The number of unemployed individuals rose 3,158 month-on-month to reach 381,705 and increased 55,482 compared to the same month last year. Meanwhile, the number of registered job vacancies added 3,274 from a month earlier to 89,705.