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One of the country’s frequently stated assets in attracting foreign investment has been its skilled and relatively cheap work force. However the outcome of a study by consultants Engage Hill suggests that the drawn out economic crisis has had a negative impact on Czechs’ work ethics and the country may be heading for trouble.

Significant investment decisions are on the horizon which could bring billions of crowns worth of inward investment and thousands of jobs, but they are unlikely to be the high skill, high salary posts the Czech Republic coveted not so long ago.

With unemployment having reached an all-time high in January the authorities are looking for ways to create new jobs in the worst-affected regions. One of the projects in the pipeline, discussed at a conference in the Senate this week, are state-supported personal and household services which have played an integral role in the recovery of the employment market in many other EU member states.

Year-on-year inflation in January fell to 0.2 percent from December’s figure of 1.4 percent, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Czech Statistics Office. Last month’s year-on-year rise in consumer prices was the lowest seen in the Czech Republic since way back in October 2009.

Scandal rather than success and savings appear to be the words most frequently linked to Czech attempts to employ information and communications technology advances in the public sector. An appeal by the significant Czech sector to give ICT a real chance by putting the right people and coordination in place looks like falling on deaf ears.

Relief from the Czech Republic’s record jobless total could come as soon as next month, though a sharp decline is not expected until seasonal work starts to kick-in during the summer. But some economists see unemployment rates climbing again to near 2013 levels by the end of the year.

The Czech agency for attracting foreign firms has been told to get back to basics and attract incoming investment and domestic expansion. But looming changes in key EU regional aid rules will put a brake on a rapid turnaround in CzechInvest’s performance.

Czech exporters delivered a strong performance in 2013 with the trade surplus continuing to rise. But a more detailed look at the goods being traded and bilateral relations show familiar strengths and weaknesses.

Czech President Miloš Zeman on Wednesday appointed former prime minister Jiří Rusnok to the board of the Czech National Bank. It is the first of five appointments the president is due to make to the central bank board during his term in office and commentators say the changes may have a moderating effect on the bank’s currently Eurosceptic board.

Slovakia has come to the foreground as a possible inspiration for finance minister Andrej Babiš’ to shake up his new fief and the Czech Republic.