Initial Findings for Labour Markets in The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia

The purpose of this article is to present a picture of labour shortages in the V4 countries. Through a sample of regional organizations, the authors outline and analyse the data obtained in two research samples. The paper begins with a general overview of the current situation of four countries in terms of labour shortages and the pattern of labour shortages among countries. By studying two regional samples, the authors outlined what economic sectors and job families have the greatest levels of labour shortage. An analysis follows and details are provided for patterns and activities in four focal countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) describing the elements and forces that lead to national workforce deficits and also providing information on the practices organizations are implementing to mitigate this problem. Finally, we summarize the results and draw a series of conclusions.