Page 45 - IDEA Study 3 2018 Low skilled

9. Conclusion The aim of this study was to present evidence on the characteristics and the position of the low-skilled in the Czech Republic, discuss their labor market performance and consider policies to ensure their long-term inclusion into the labor market. The low-skilled in the Czech Republic form less than 7% of working age individuals, but they fare much worse than the rest of the population and worse than the low-skilled in other EU countries. The employment rate among the low-skilled who were aged 20-64 in 2014-2016, was as low as 41.8%, the share of unemployed was 11.4%, and the share of inactive was as high as 46.8%. Low-skilled women are even less likely to be employed than men (only 35% of them work), but they are also less likely to be unemployed. Almost 70% of the inactive low-skilled aged 20-64 are pensioners and individuals with a disability. Over 60% of the unemployed low- skilled are long-term unemployed (over 1 year). Over one third of the unemployed low- skilled states the end of the temporary contract as the reason for their current unemployment. In addition to the lack of skills, the low-skilled often belong to disadvantaged groups in other aspects as well. There is higher share of women, of individuals with a disability, and they tend to be concentrated in regions with higher unemployment. While the share of the low-skilled has been declining over time, there are indications that the trend may have reversed, with a higher share of the low-skilled among the young cohorts. Moreover, only a small fraction of these early school leavers seems to directly enter the currently very tight labor market. The fact that the employment rate among the younger cohorts of the low- skilled is less than 50%, which is even less than among the older cohorts, is a warning signal. Among the low-skilled in employment, less than 10% are self-employed compared to more than 16% in other skill groups. Less than 7% of employees are low-skilled. They are the skill group with the highest share of foreigners, which has steadily risen over time and reached 11% in 2016. The low-skilled work predominantly as Plant and Machine Operators and Assemblers, in Elementary Occupations, or as Services and Sales Workers. The ISCO group with the highest share of the low-skilled (27%) is Elementary Occupations. 37% of low-skilled jobs are in the manufacturing industry. Only 58% of low-skilled employees have a permanent contract compared to 74% in the whole population. The low-skilled also have much higher job turnover, with a median tenure of 2.2 years (6.4 years for the whole population). 43