Number of employed people slightly up in CEE and the EU
For the whole year 2024, the number of people employed increased by 0.8% in the EU and by 1.1% in the CEE7 region. While the average growth of employment has been slowing down each year in the whole EU for the last couple of years, the CEE region shows slightly different dynamics. In 2024, average employment growth was higher compared to 2023. When looking at the quarterly data, we clearly see, however, that after the acceleration of employment growth throughout 2023, last year the growth dynamics were losing its strength. In the last quarter of 2024, employment growth was at 0.5% in the CEE7 region, down from 1.5% in the first quarter of 2024. The developments within the region are quite heterogeneous as well. In Croatia, employment growth was the highest in 2024. In Czechia and Hungary, employment increased but at quite a meager pace. On the other hand, employment declined in Poland and Slovakia. In general, we expect the labor market to remain tight in 2025. The prospect of stronger economic growth supports labor market developments.