In 2007, GDP in Slovakia in stable prices is expected to grow by 8.8 percent according to the revised prognosis of the Slovak Statistics Office, which was made public on September 4.
The average annual inflation is expected to be 2.5 percent. As for the labour market, employment is being forecast to grow by 2.3 percent year-on-year, while the number of unemployed is expected to fall by 19.1 percent to 286,000 people.
"On average, the rate of unemployment should reach 10.8 percent in 2007. As for the development of the average monthly nominal wage, growth of 7.2 percent, or to Sk20,120 (€592) is anticipated," Stats Office chair Ľudmila Benkovičová told journalists on September 4. In view of the supposed development of consumer prices, the real wage growth should be 4.6 percent year-on-year.
"Inflation might be lower than we estimated," said the Stats Office's Pavol Baláž, head of national accounts and prices, in clarifying the changes to the original estimates. He added that Stats Office forecasts often tend to err on the conservative side. 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.
