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May 12, 2009, 9:16 GMT

Czech unemployment up, inflation down amid economic slump

Prague - The Czech Republic's unemployment rate continued to climb in April while inflation fell further, a sign that a drop in demand was choking the export-reliant economy, government data showed Tuesday. The unemployment rate, based on the number of jobseekers registered with state labour authorities, rose to 7.9 per cent in April, up from 7.7 per cent in March, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs said. Meanwhile, year-on-year inflation slowed to 1.8 per cent in April, the lowest reading since February 2007, the Czech Statistical Office said. The rate stood at 2.3 per cent in March. Prague's target inflation rate is 3 per cent, with a tolerance fluctuation of 1 per cent above or below that level. The April rate indicates that prices have fallen below the lower tolerance level. The Czech central bank slashed the key interest rate to a record low of 1.5 per cent on May 7 in a bid to ease money conditions further and boost economic activity. Consumer prices fell 0.1 per cent month-on-month, mostly owing to cheaper foodstuffs, abolition of some fees in medical care and lower gas prices, the statisticians said. Industrial output also continued to slip, dropping 17 per cent year-on-year in March, the statistical office said. It was down a seasonally-adjusted 0.2 per cent month-on-month in March. The Central European country of 10.3 million was largely spared the meltdown on global financial markets, but a fall in orders has been hurting the economy, which is dependent on exports.

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