Tuesday, 28 October 2025
The average nominal monthly wage of an employee in Slovakia reached EUR 1,654 in the second quarter of 2025, representing an 8.8 percent increase compared with the same period a year earlier. This was the strongest growth in the past five quarters, with gross wages rising on average by EUR 134. After accounting for inflation, real wages increased by 4.5 percent, marking an acceleration in wage growth despite higher consumer prices. Compared with the first quarter of 2025, seasonally adjusted wages were up by 3.4 percent.
All 19 monitored sectors of the economy recorded year-on-year growth in nominal wages, with nearly half exceeding 10 percent. The highest increase, more than 16 percent, was seen in water management, while the lowest, slightly above 4 percent, was in real estate. Real wages also rose across all sectors, with notable gains above 8 percent in water management, education, energy supply, and healthcare. Wage growth in education and public administration was supported by a one-off state bonus.
In the largest employing sectors, industry and trade, wage growth was below the national average. In industry, wages rose by 8.3 percent to EUR 1,791, with a real increase of 4 percent. In trade, wages increased by 8 percent to EUR 1,535, with real wages up 3.7 percent. The highest average wages, above EUR 2,600, were recorded in financial and insurance activities, energy supply, and information and communication. The lowest average, EUR 950, remained in accommodation and food services, the only sector below the EUR 1,000 mark.
Regionally, only Bratislavský kraj maintained an above-average wage level at EUR 1,960. Other regions ranged from EUR 1,299 in Prešovský kraj to EUR 1,629 in Košický kraj. The strongest year-on-year nominal growth was in Košický kraj at 13.3 percent, where real wages also rose the most, by 8.8 percent. The lowest real wage growth was in Bratislavský kraj at 2.6 percent.
For the first half of 2025, the average nominal monthly wage stood at EUR 1,586, an increase of 6.9 percent year-on-year. Real wages grew by 2.8 percent, although in the energy supply sector wages fell in real terms, making it the only sector where purchasing power declined.
