Slovaks not happy with salary, but analysts see good times ahead

More than two-thirds of Slovaks believe that their salary isn't fair, while only 27 percent of Slovaks are satisfied with their remuneration. This follows data from a survey that the STEM/MARK agency recently carried out for HomeCredit. Meanwhile, only less than one-half of employees pluck up the courage to ask for a raise, with most of them in for disappointment anyway, because their requests are either turned down or the actual raise is lower than they wanted. Nonetheless, HomeCredit analyst Michal Kozub voiced some optimism for the future. "The crisis is ending, and companies are not only beginning to take on new workers, but they're actually willing to give better remuneration to their current employees. A rise in real salaries is to be expected while consumer prices shouldn't grow," said Kozub. The largest share of people who see their salaries as unfair was found in manufacturing and industry. Despite the much lower pace of GDP growth in comparison with that before the crisis, it's sufficient for employment growth, analysts with Slovakia's Central Bank NBS wrote in their latest commentary on Wednesday. They stated that the relationship between the employment rate and the actual economic developments in Slovakia is changing mainly due to the long-term shift in the core of the economy from industrial sectors to services. This structural shift makes the employment rate more responsive to GDP growth, particularly so if the economic growth is fuelled by domestic demand.