Despite the decrease in the number of people who believe that there are too many foreigners working here and that they’re taking our jobs, a majority of the population still holds that opinion
Two-thirds of Czechs (66 %) believe that too many foreigners are working in our country, and only a slightly lower percentage (60 %) say that the employment of foreigners is depriving our people of jobs. Compared with last year’s survey, the proportion of citizens who agree with these opinions has fallen. As in previous years, a three-fifths majority of the population (60 %) does not agree that foreigners are the only solution to labour shortages in certain professions.
The survey cited here was conducted by the STEM non-profit institute (www.stem.cz) on a representative sample of the Czech population aged 18 and over from 16 to 23 March 2016. Respondents were selected using a quota sampling method, with some 1,050 people taking part in the survey.
Since 2009, when there was a noticeable rise in unemployment and the public started to feel the effects of the economic crisis, STEM has been monitoring public opinion on the fact that a relatively high number of foreigners are employed in many professions in this country. In the context of a change in the attitudes of Czech citizens towards foreigners and increased optimism in terms of economic outlook, it is interesting to track the dynamics of opinion on the employment of foreigners in this country.
According to the latest survey, a two-thirds majority of citizens (66 %) consider the number of foreigners living here to be too high. A three-fifths majority of the population (60 %) believes that foreigners are taking our citizens’ jobs. By contrast, two-fifths of people (40 %) admit that in the case of certain professions, without foreigners it would be difficult to find a solution to fill gaps in the labour market.
Source: STEM, Trends 3/2016, 1050 respondents aged 18 +
Up until last year’s survey, opinions on the employment of foreigners had been very stable. While the proportion of those who believed that the employment of foreigners was the only solution to labour shortages remained at the same level as in the previous two surveys, the level of agreement with the other two opinions analysed in the surveys decreased. The majority opinion that there are too many foreigners working in this country and that they are depriving our citizens of jobs decreased by 14 and 12 percentage points, respectively. Despite this decline, a clear majority of Czech citizens agree with these statements.
Source: STEM, Trends 2009-2016
Attitudes towards the number of foreigners in this country and their role in the labour market are not affected to any great extent by socio-demographic characteristics. The only factor that plays a definite role is level of education: the higher the level of education, the lower the proportion of respondents who agree with the statements that there are too many foreigners working in this country and that they are depriving our citizens of jobs. Moreover, compared with the last survey, the fall in the number of respondents who held the opinion that foreigners were “taking” the jobs of Czech citizens was much more significant among university graduates than among those in the remaining educational categories. Essentially, this means that in this educational category the proportion of citizens who disagree with this opinion already exceeds the proportion who agree (viz. second graph below).
*Secondary School Leaving Certificate, equiv. A Levels in the UK,
High School Diploma in the US
Source: STEM, Trends 3/2016, 1050 respondents aged 18 +
*Secondary School Leaving Certificate, equiv. A Levels in the UK,
High School Diploma in the US
Source: STEM, Trends 3/2015, 3/2016
Differences according to social status are not statistically significant (the data merely indicate that the unemployed evidently most often believe that foreigners our depriving our citizens of work – 78 % of those who are unemployed answered in the affirmative). The opinions of those in employment differ slightly, however. The proportion of citizens who agree that there are too many foreigners in this country and that they are depriving our citizens of jobs is higher among blue-collar and white-collar workers and, by contrast, lower among those in management positions, experts and operational managers.
Source: STEM, Trends 3/2016, 1050 respondents aged 18 +
(531 employees; given their low representation in the survey, figures for those in management positions are only approximate)
In terms of political affiliation, it is evident that right-wing individuals have more favourable opinions on the employment of foreigners in this country – they are less likely to be of the opinion that too many foreigners work here and that they are taking our jobs.
Source: STEM, Trends 3/2016, 1050 respondents aged 18 +