This third instalment of the Voice of Ukrainians in the Czech Republic surveys, produced by PAQ Research in cooperation with the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, focuses on the employment experiences of refugees in the Czech Republic. The document summarises the key findings of the research and formulates recommendations for policy makers.
The findings are based on a representative sample of 1 590 economically active refugees, conducted in August 2022. In the cases of questions on the development of knowledge of Czech and the qualifications for work performed, data are drawn from a survey of 1 300 refugees from Ukraine conducted in July 2022.
Key findings
Half of the economically active refugees surveyed are in paid work (40% in the Czech Republic; 8% remotely in Ukraine). Parents who have found a nursery for their children are significantly more likely to work, and people who live in standard housing are more likely to work. University educated Ukrainians are more likely to be working remotely in Ukraine.
Refugees from Ukraine are not using their qualifications in the Czech Republic: 44% of Ukrainians working for Czech employers work in positions that are significantly more lower-skilled than those they held in Ukraine (in general dropping from specialised positions to unskilled manual work), with only one third continuing with work of a similar skill level.
Many refugees work for low wages and salaries. More than a third (35%) earn up to 100 CZK (4 EUR) net per hour, and only 11% earn above 200 CZK (8 EUR) net per hour. In most occupations Ukrainians earn less than the average for Czechs. These lower earnings can be explained mainly by the unskilled positions they hold. Approximately a fifth of refugees from Ukraine said they work for labour agencies (13%) or for informal labour brokers (7%), which are often linked to further income restrictions.
Only 20% of refugee workers say that their income from working in the Czech Republic would be enough to survive on (including covering the cost of housing) if they did not have additional support and/or income from Ukraine.
Three quarters of refugees who are not working, and 40% of those who are, are actively looking for a new or different job. In their responses they shared that they would be most helped by improved knowledge of the Czech language (mentioned by 83% respondents) and recognition of qualifications from Ukraine (mentioned by 32%).
Further information can be found – in Czech – here.
Image and text source: PAQ Research 2022