The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has increased its estimate of Slovakia’s gross domestic product, GDP, growth in 2014 by 0.1 percentage points to 2 percent and kept the estimate for 2015 unchanged at 2.9 percent, the TASR newswire quoted OECD. The previous estimates date back to November.
In 2014, Slovakia should achieve the second-highest GDP growth among the OECD members that are part of eurozone. OECD believes that the expected revival on the labour market will result in an increase in household consumption - for the first time in five years. Slovakia’s growth should also be driven by exports, which should thrive due to expected positive developments in the eurozone.
The Slovak government will manage to keep the public-finance deficit under 3 percent of GDP in 2014 and 2015, while the public debt won’t exceed 57 percent, the OECD believes. “The deficit in 2014 will be reduced to 2.7 percent of GDP, and it will drop to 2.6 percent of GDP in 2015,” said the OECD. The public debt will reach 55.2 percent of GDP in 2014, and 56.2 percent of GDP in 2015.
The unemployment rate should fall from 14.2 percent in 2013 to 13.9 percent in 2014 and further to 13.2 percent in 2015. Inflation should be moderate - 0.4 percent in 2014 and 1 percent in 2015. OECD recommended that Slovakia should go further with the ongoing public sector reform and make the drawing of EU funds more effective. Slovakia should also pursue active labour-market policy and an education reform with the aim of reducing long-term unemployment, the report said.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
