Slovak economy expanded by 3.7% in the first quarter

The Slovak economy expanded by 3.7% in the first quarter, down from the 4.1% pace for all of 2018 but well above the EU average level of 1.5%, reported the statistics office ŠÚ, confirming its flash estimate. The most surprising element was household consumption, which grew at the slowest pace since 2013 (1%). Nominal wage growth picked up pace to 7.1%, the highest level since 2012 and the average wage came to €1,023. Finance is the first sector in Slovakia’s history with an average wage in excess of €2,000. Unemployment fell to 5.8%. The corporate sector was doing fine, exports were up 7.2% and profits of non-financial corporations rose 4% to €2.3bn.

The GDP growth will be slowing down this year, but should stay above 3%.