Labour Hoarding jako jeden z faktorů zpomalující zotavení z ekonomické krize

This thesis examines the phenomenon of labour hoarding in the economy of the Czech Republic. Labour hoarding is an occurrence, whose relevance is particularly evident during periods of economic crises and subsequent recovery. The timeliness of this topic is further underscored by the lingering effects of the economic crisis linked with the COVID-19 pandemic, which the whole world recently experienced. Although labour hoarding represents one of the effective strategies to mitigate the impacts of crises and accelerate subsequent recovery, excessive retention of employees can lead to significant reductions in productivity, thereby slowing down economic revitalization. Given that the economy of the Czech Republic lags behind other European countries in returning to the real GDP levels from the pre-COVID pandemic period and its productivity has been consistently below the European average, the main hypothesis being investigated is the negative role of labour hoarding as one of the factors slowing down recovery from the economic crisis. To analyze the macroeconomic effects of labour hoarding in the Czech economy, error correction models for the service and industrial sectors during the period from 2000 to 2024 are used. With the help of these models, the extent and effects of labour hoarding across different sectors of the economy are estimated. To support the results of the error correction models, microeconomic analyses at the firm level were created, where the effects and trends in the utilization and number of employees between 2018 and 2024 are examined using anonymous company data. For the purposes of linking the different levels of analysis, a discussion with a senior employee of the mentioned company was conducted in the final part of the thesis to confirm the accuracy of the observed trends in the data. Based on the results of these analyses, the conclusion was formulated that labour hoarding, in conjunction with intensive state intervention during an economic crisis, can indeed contribute to the subsequent slowdown in recovery.