The Czech Republic's unemployment rate grew in December as a fall in seasonal work and long-term contracts affected the country's labor market.

That is according to a survey of economic analysts undertaken by the Czech News Agency, which questioned participants on why the country's jobless rate surged by 0.6 per cent to 9.2 per cent last month.

Respondents claimed that unemployment traditionally grows in the Czech Republic by up to 0.5 per cent during November and December due to seasonal factors, the Prague Daily Monitor reported.

However, a number of analysts also suggested that the economic downturn had contributed to companies failing to increase their staff numbers in the final quarter of 2009.

Marketa Sichtarova, analyst at Next Finance, told the newspaper that the negative impacts of the recession has had an impact on employment levels.

"Companies lack new orders and have to lay off more employees," she said.

Last month, the Czech Statistical Office disclosed that consumer and business confidence in the country's economy rose in December.