Real wages continued to increase in 2002

According to official figures published in 2003, average nominal monthly wages in Slovakia rose by 9.3% in 2002, compared with 8.2% in 2001. In real terms, the upward trend was even more marked in 2002, with an increase of 5.8%, compared with 1.1% in 2001. As a result of the enforcement of new legislation on public sector pay and conditions, wages in this sector increased by considerably more than in the business sector.

According to data issued by the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic (Statistický úrad SR, SÚ SR), in 2002 the average nominal wage increase was 9.3%, up from 8.2% in the previous year (SK0207101N). The average nominal monthly wage of an employee was SKK 13,511 in 2002. Taking into account data provided by the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (Ministerstvo práce, sociálnych vecí a rodiny Slovenskej republiky, MPSVR SR), this means an increase in average nominal wages of 151.2 % compared with 1993 (the year that Slovakia became an independent state).

Taking into consideration the development of the cost-of-living index (which increased by 103.1% from 1993 to 2002), the average wage in 2002 was 23.7% higher in real terms than in 1993. There was an annual real wage increase from 1993 to 1998, with a total increase over his period of 24.7%. However, there were real wage decreases in 1999 (down 2.9%) and 2000 (down 4.6%), mainly as a result of inflation, with an increase in consumer prices. The trend turned around in 2001, with a real wage increase of 1.1%. In 2002, the real increase in gross wages averaged 5.8%, 4.7 percentage points more than in 2001. In the business sector, the real increase in gross wages was 4.2%, compared with 12.3% in the non-business sector.

The average nominal wage increased significantly in the non-business sphere in 2002 - rising by 17.9% in 'budgetary organisations' (ie those funded from the state budget) and 14.6% in state-subsidised organisations - while the increase was much lower in the business sphere, at 7.6%. The higher increase in the non-business sphere was caused by the implementation of the Acts on Civil and Public Services (SK0206102F), which took effect on 1 April 2002, and by the resulting increase in 'tariff wages' in these services. Consequently, the difference between average nominal wages in the business and non-business sectors was reduced in 2002. In 2002, the average nominal monthly wage stood at SKK 11,898 in budgetary organisations and SKK 12,350 in subsidised organisations, compared with SKK 15,187 in the business sphere. The difference between the average nominal monthly wage in the business sector and that in budgetary organisations thus stood at SKK 4,022 in 2002 - down SKK 733 on the difference in 2001 - while the difference between the average nominal monthly wage in the business sector and that in subsidised organisations stood at SKK 3,055 in 2002 - down SKK 198 on the difference in 2001.

By economic sector, the lowest average nominal monthly wage in 2002 was found in agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishery - at SKK 9,622 - and the highest in finance and insurance - at SKK 24,220. The lowest average nominal wage increase in 2002 was in the construction sector (4.5%) and in wholesale, commerce, consumer goods and repair of motor vehicles (5.4 %). The sectors which experienced the greatest average nominal wage increases in 2002 were: health services, social care and education - 15.8%; other public and social services - 15.1%; public administration, defence and social security - 12.6%; finance and insurance services - 11.0%; and real estate, trade services, research and development - 10.0%.

In 2002, the total real wage increase was 1.5 points higher than the increase in labour productivity, which stood across the economy at 4.3% of Gross Domestic Product per employee.