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| Poles and Romanians have overtaken us in average wages |
| Bratislava, 30.11.2025 |
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| Slovakia has fallen to 24th place in the EU in terms of average annual wages adjusted to full-time equivalents, and Poland and Romania have also moved up the rankings. Analysts and employers see the problem mainly in the poor business environment, weak economic competitiveness and brain drain abroad; the state is trying to increase the average wage by increasing the minimum wage.
Countries that we used to catch up with have now overtaken us. “And this is not just a statistical inconvenience, but also a signal that our economic position and our ability to attract talent, maintain productivity and continue to grow dynamically are changing,” warned Marián Kočiš, an analyst at Slovenská sporiteľňa.
In addition to the fact that our economic model, also based on low wages, is reaching its limits, Slovakia is becoming a less attractive country in the competition for talent and a qualified workforce. According to the analyst, it is more financially advantageous for many applicants from non-EU countries to work in Poland, Romania or the Czech Republic, which have overtaken us in the rankings.
Analyst Iness Róbert Chovanculiak added that in the period 2010-2013, when Slovakia had a high unemployment rate, wages accounted for 36% of gross domestic product (GDP). More than a decade later, when unemployment is at record low levels, wages account for 44% of GDP. However, according to Chovanculiak, Slovakia has thus exhausted a large part of the redistributive potential for wage growth and employers no longer have much room to increase salaries.
"Therefore, it cannot be expected that wages in Slovakia will continue to grow through better redistribution of the pie. There is only one way left - to enlarge the pie. That means increasing labor productivity - without that, we can forget about catching up with the West," the analyst reminded.
According to him, for the economy to grow, we need a layer of extremely wealthy people, capable of investing large resources, but we often look down on them in our country and automatically label them as "oligarchs", but also a layer of extremely talented and active people, capable of inventing innovations - but they often flee abroad.
While employers see the problem of low wages in the high tax and contribution burden, in the stability of the business environment and, according to them, in the still insufficient support for science and research and innovation, trade unionists and the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Family (MLSFR) of the Slovak Republic are inclined to increase the minimum wage.
According to Martina Nemethová, spokeswoman for the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Slovak Republic, the biggest difference between Slovakia and Western European countries is the strength of collective agreements. Where wages are negotiated by sector and collective agreements cover more employees, according to her, wages grow faster and are also higher. “Slovakia has one of the lowest collective bargaining coverages in the EU - and this is keeping wages down, especially in services, retail, tourism and social care,” said Nemethová.
Trade unionists also disagree with the claim that wages are relatively high in relation to labor productivity and there is no room for further increases. “We have relatively high productivity, but a weak redistribution of its results towards employees,” said Nemethová.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs Karolína Ducká emphasized that the state has only limited tools with which it can pressure wage increases. One of them is increasing the minimum wage. After the introduction of a new automatic wage machine next year, it will increase sharply by almost 100 euros.
According to the Ministry of Labor, brain drain is a long-standing, cross-ministerial problem that cannot be simplified to just the issue of wages. Responsibility for remuneration, working conditions and career growth of people lies with employers themselves, including the business sector.
However, entrepreneurs claim that one of the factors that may contribute to lower wages in Slovakia is the high tax and social security burden on work. This is to be further increased as part of the consolidation for the highest-earning workers. “This measure may have undesirable consequences for this group of professionals that our economy needs the most, and they may therefore be motivated to go abroad,” warned Miriam Filová, spokeswoman for the Association of Employers’ Unions and Associations of the Slovak Republic.
Martin Lidaj, executive director of the Business Alliance of Slovakia, claims that if Slovakia wants to grow wages in the long term, the solution should be higher labor productivity, attracting sectors with higher added value or a shift in the structure of the economy. An increase in the minimum wage may help, but it will not solve the problem. "The average wage is mainly driven by middle and higher incomes," Lidaj said.
According to Lidaj, the Czech Republic and Poland are more successful than Slovakia, mainly due to a long-term stable business environment and better infrastructure thanks to massive investments and a high rate of EU funds. Also due to better diversification of the economy with a strong emphasis on education in technical fields and IT. "Unfortunately, Slovakia has a weak and especially unpredictable business environment - frequently changing laws, high bureaucracy and tax and social security burden on labor," he added.odkaz na stránku |
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