About 70% of Ukrainian asylum seekers of working age in the Czech Republic are employed and bring economic benefits to the Czech Republic
.This was stated in an interview with Ukrinform by Vasyl Zvarych, Ambassador of Ukraine to the Czech Republic.
According to the Embassy, there are currently almost 370,000 Ukrainian citizens in the Czech Republic who have been granted temporary protection status since February 2022.
“Of these, almost 280,000 are of working age, between 18 and 65 years old. And it is very important that 70% of them are officially employed,” the diplomat noted, adding that this is a high percentage compared to other European countries neighboring the Czech Republic.
This is also a huge benefit for the Czech Republic’s budget, because official employment means paying taxes, insurance contributions, and so on, which fills the Czech budget, the Ambassador emphasized. He cited official statistics from the Czech government, according to which last year, the amount of taxes paid by Ukrainians in the Czech Republic exceeded the amount of social benefits paid to Ukrainians with temporary protection status by $250 million. In the first quarter of this year, the “profit” has already reached $130 million, so by the end of the year, the figure will exceed last year’s.
Zvarych pointed out that Ukrainians work in hospitals and schools, where there is a severe shortage of qualified personnel. The Embassy of Ukraine has launched the Solidární navzájem (Solidarity with Each Other) project, which showcases successful Ukrainians, especially those who came to the Czech Republic due to Russian aggression, who were able to verify their qualifications in a short period of time and now hold important positions, primarily in the fields of medicine, IT, education, etc.
According to the diplomat, Ukrainians did not come to the Czech Republic to sit idly and wait for social assistance. “Ukrainians are hard-working and talented, and they also use their talent and labor to help and support various areas of Czech society,” he emphasized.
The Ambassador also added that those who found better employment opportunities in Ukraine than in the Czech Republic, and those who did not find themselves in the new country, are returning home.
Zvarych called the attempts of some political forces on the eve of the parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic to use the topic of Ukrainian refugees in their election campaign manipulations.
As reported, after February 2022, the Czech Republic accepted the largest number of Ukrainian asylum seekers in proportion to its population.
