THE UNEMPLOYMENT rate in Slovakia is being pushed up by layoffs in the public sector while private sector hiring is attempting to bring it down, Michal Mušák, an analyst with Slovenská Sporiteľňa bank, told the TASR newswire.
Mušák said the number of unemployed Slovaks will continue to grow during the remaining winter months, but he expects a gradual decrease in the unemployment rate as of March.
“In view of the relatively moderate speed of economic recovery, we can be justifiably concerned that the unemployment rate will decrease rather more slowly than it increased between the summer of 2008 and the spring of 2010,” Vladimír Vaňo of Volksbank told TASR.
