Salaries growing fast in Slovakia

In the second quarter of this year, salaries in Slovakia posted the highest year-on-year (y-o-y) growth since the beginning of 2008, according to the data released by the Statistics Office. The average gross nominal salary rose as much as 9.7% y-o-y to €1,101. UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia analyst Ľubomír Koršňák stated that the public sector chiefly contributed to the wage growth in the second quarter. Conversely, the wage growth decelerated in the processing and construction industries under the influence of weaker production and growing uncertainty. The growth rate in the financial sector lagged behind as well. Analysts expect nominal salaries in Slovakia to grow in the near future as well. However, they see a risk in the economy's slowdown. "We expect salaries to go up by 7 to 7.5% percent this year, while their growth should decelerate towards 5% next year," said Koršňák.