The Czech Republic's unemployment rate increased in January in line with analysts' expectations.

According to the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry, the European country's jobless total grew to 9.8 per cent of the working population last month, which is the highest level recorded in more than four years.

In total, the government department's employment offices registered more than 574,000 jobseekers in this period, which is 35,000 more than during December 2009, the Prague Monitor reported.

However, Petr Dufek, analyst at CSOB, remained optimistic about the prospects of the country's labor market this year.

He told the news provider: "The biggest wave of layoffs in the Czech economy is already over. Unemployment is beginning to culminate and there is a solid chance that it will not exceed ten per cent."

Last month, the International Monetary Fund published its forecast for the Czech economy for 2010, when it expects gross domestic product to rise by 1.5 per cent.