Average Salary in Czechia Climbs to Nearly 52,000 Crowns

The average wage in Czechia rose 6.4% year-on-year in the second quarter of this year, reaching 51,966 crowns. Compared to the same period last year, employees earned 3,105 crowns more on average. Adjusted for 2% inflation, real wage growth came to 4.3%. The figures were released by the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ).

According to Jitka Erhartová, head of the labour statistics department at ČSÚ, the sharpest wage growth was seen in administrative and support services — a sector that mainly covers staffing and security agencies, which traditionally pay less. Wages there jumped 16.6%, to 40,387 crowns. The smallest increases were recorded in "other activities", up just 0.2% to 36,036 crowns, and in mining, where pay rose 2.2% to 52,817 crowns.

Who earns the most — and the least

Information and communication technology remains at the top of the pay scale, with an average salary of 90,948 crowns, followed closely by the banking and insurance sector at 90,808 crowns. The lowest wages continue to be found in the hospitality and restaurant industry, at 30,394 crowns.

Compared to the first quarter, seasonally adjusted wage growth came in at 1.6%. Statisticians also revised the figures for the first three months of the year, now putting the average salary for that period at 49,328 crowns.

Why wages are rising now

According to Tereza Krčková, an analyst at Raiffeisenbank, spring is when many sectors pay out annual bonuses tied to the previous year's financial results. The second quarter is also the first period in which wage statistics fully reflect the outcome of spring collective bargaining and the revised tariff rates that took effect in April.

"Wage growth is being fuelled by a structural imbalance in the labour market: in certain professions, companies are forced to raise pay just to keep staff. We're seeing strong upward pressure on wages in construction, in agriculture — which is coming off a low base — and in services, and now the public sector is adding to that pressure too," Krčková notes.

Radovan Hauk, partner at consulting firm Moore Czech Republic, describes the current pace as a moderate slowdown following an exceptionally strong first quarter, when wages grew 8.1%. He points out that growth still far outpaces what the economy can sustainably absorb in the long run: the Czech National Bank estimates that wage growth compatible with its inflation target should be around 4.5%, while the actual figure remains considerably higher.

Hauk also stresses that part of this year's wage growth isn't driven by business strength at all, but rather by public-sector pay rises and a chronic shortage of workers, which forces companies to overpay for hard-to-fill roles. "This is good news for households, but their purchasing power has only just returned to pre-pandemic levels this year, so we should be cautious about talking of any real gains in prosperity," the expert warns.

As of this year, statisticians no longer publish median wage data — the data source used to calculate that figure ceased to exist last year, and a replacement has yet to be launched. Real wages in Czechia have been rising year-on-year since early 2024, following more than two years of decline driven by high inflation. Stripped of price growth effects, the country's average nominal wage has been climbing continuously since early 2014.

Read also: 9 Michelin-starred restaurants in Czechia: where to find fine dining from Prague to Moravia

Source: seznamzpravy.cz