Tuesday, 2 June 2026
The average monthly wage in Slovakia increased to EUR 1,611 during the first quarter of 2026, marking a year-on-year rise of 6.1%, according to data released by the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic.
After adjusting for inflation, real wages grew by 2.3%, extending both nominal and real wage growth to a tenth consecutive quarter. Compared with the final quarter of 2025, seasonally adjusted average wages increased by 1.6%.
Employees earned on average EUR 93 more per month than a year earlier. While wage growth remained broad-based across the economy, performance varied significantly between sectors.
Education recorded the strongest increase, with average wages rising by 14.5% year-on-year to EUR 1,582. The increase was largely driven by legislative changes and wage indexation measures. After accounting for inflation, real wages in the sector increased by 10.4%, the highest among all monitored industries.
Overall, 18 of the 19 monitored sectors reported higher nominal wages compared with a year earlier. Mining and quarrying was the only sector to record a decline, with average wages falling by 0.1%.
When inflation is taken into account, employees in 13 sectors experienced real wage growth. Besides education, notable gains were recorded in agriculture and forestry, where real wages rose by 5.4%. However, six sectors saw wage increases fail to keep pace with inflation, resulting in declines in purchasing power. The largest decreases were recorded in mining and quarrying and in information and communication activities.
Industry and trade, Slovakia’s largest employers, continued to post positive wage growth, although below the national average. Average wages in industry reached EUR 1,721, up 6.0% year-on-year, while real wages increased by 2.2%. In trade, average monthly wages rose by 4.5% to EUR 1,518, translating into real growth of 0.8%.
Financial and insurance activities remained the highest-paying sector in the economy, with average monthly wages exceeding EUR 3,000. At the opposite end of the scale, accommodation and food service activities continued to record the lowest earnings at EUR 963 per month, remaining the only sector where average wages did not exceed EUR 1,000.
Regional disparities persisted across Slovakia. The Bratislavský kraj remained the only region with wages above the national average, reaching EUR 1,984 per month. In contrast, the lowest average wage was recorded in Prešovský kraj at EUR 1,306.
Despite the gap, all regions recorded growth in both nominal and real wages. Prešovský kraj posted the strongest improvement, with average wages increasing by 10.8% year-on-year and real wages rising by 6.8%.
The latest figures indicate that wage growth in Slovakia remains supported by a relatively resilient labour market, although inflation continues to limit gains in purchasing power across several sectors of the economy.
Source: SRSO
