Economic Performance and Employment in the Czech Forestry Sector: Evidence from 2009 to 2024

This study examines the relationships between gross value added (GVA), employment, timber harvest, and labour productivity in the Czech forestry sector from 2009 to 2024. Annual data obtained from the Czech Statistical Office, Eurostat, UNECE, and Reports on the State of Forests and Forestry in the Czech Republic were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and simple linear regression. The results revealed a statistically significant negative relationship between GVA and timber harvest volume (r = −0.820; p < 0.001), showing that the increase in timber harvesting during the bark beetle outbreak coincided with declining economic performance due to market oversupply and falling timber prices. In contrast, the relationship between GVA and employment was negative but statistically insignificant (r = −0.406; p > 0.05). Labour productivity increased by 44.5% during the analysed period; however, no statistically significant long-term linear trend was identified. The findings suggest that Czech forestry is undergoing technological transformation associated with increasing capital intensity and rising labour productivity, while remaining vulnerable to large-scale disturbance events and market instability. The study contributes to the forest economics literature by showing that disturbance-driven increases in harvesting intensity may reduce economic performance under conditions of timber market oversupply.