Employment in the SR has recently maintained its growth in the 4^th quarter and for the entire year 2024, for the third consecutive year

In the last three months of the year, the number of employees and the employment increased, but only slightly. In the year-round balance, there was a positive result of reaching the number of employees, especially in selected service sectors and in industry. From a regional perspective, the number of employees increased in 6 out of 8 SR regions, most significantly in Košický and Bratislavský kraj. The employment rate exceeded 78 % for the first time in history.

According to the Labor Force Sample Survey (LFSS)¹⁾, the number of employees in Slovakia in the last quarter of 2024 exceeded 2 646 000 persons year-on-year. The number of employees²⁾ in the SR increased only slightly by 0.2% year-on-year. After seasonal adjustment, employment in the SR rose by 0.3% quarter-on-quarter (compared to the 3^rd quarter) to over 2 624 000 employees.

The employment rate³⁾, which expresses the share of employees in the population⁴⁾, increased by 0.5 percentage points (p.p.) year-on-year to 78.8%.

In total, during the 4^th quarter of 2024, employment increased year-on-year in 9 of the 18 monitored sectors of the economy. Larger number of people, 1 676 000 people continued to work in services, and their number increased by more than 21 000 employees (+1.3%) year-on-year. In the manufacturing sectors, employment continued decreasing to 970 000 employees, a year-on-year decrease by almost 16 000 people (-1.6%).

From a regional perspective, during the 4^th quarter of 2024, the number of employees increased year-on-year in 5 of the 8 SR regions. Relatively, it was the most significant in Košický kraj by 2.7% (by 9 000 people), followed by Trnavský kraj by 1.9% (by 5 400 people). At the same time, Bratislavský, Prešovský and Trenčiansky kraj also recorded a slight increase. The decrease in the number of employees in the year-on-year comparison was reflected in Nitriansky kraj by 2.8% (by 9.6 thousand persons) and in Žilinský kraj by 1.3% (by 4.6 thousand persons).

Besides the dominant Bratislavský kraj, Žilinský, Trenčiansky and Trnavský kraj also achieved an employment rate³⁾ above 80%. The most significant year-on-year change was in Košický kraj, where the employment rate increased by up to 2.5 percentage points (p.p.) to 73.8%. For the fourth consecutive quarter, Prešovský kraj has the lowest employment rate (73%).

In the 4^th quarter of 2024, almost 118 000 Slovak citizens went to work abroad⁶⁾, which was by 1.2% less than in the corresponding period of 2023.

Employment in 2024 compared to 2023

The total number of employees in the SR for the year 2024 increased by almost 11 000 people (by 0.4%) year-on-year to 2 620 000 people. In total, of the 18 monitored sectors of the economy, the number of employees increased year-on-year in 9. The positive result was mainly due to an increase in the number of employees in services by 9.5 thousand people (+0.6%), in which more than 1.65 million people currently worked on average in 2024. The number of employees in the manufacturing sector increased only slightly to over 972 000 people.

The most dynamic changes in services were in sectors with a lower number of employees. The number of employees increased the most, almost by 13 000 employees (+13%), in information and communication, as well as 6 200 workers (+19,4%) in art, entertainment and recreation. On the contrary, the largest year-on-year decrease in the number of employees in total on a year-round level occurred in financial and insurance services by over 8 000 workers (-11%), and also in administrative services by more than 7 000 workers (-14%)

Of the large service sectors employing over 150 000 people, the number of employees in transportation and storage, as well as in public administration and social security⁵⁾, rose year-on-year, but only slightly. Wholesale and retail trade, which is the second largest employer in the economy, experienced a very slight decrease in the number of employees during 2024.

Among the three manufacturing sectors, the number of employees increased slightly in industry and construction, in total by over 4 000 people. However, agriculture recorded a decrease by 3.3 thousand persons (-5%). Industry continued to be the largest employing sector with a 25% share of employment in the SR with 648 000 people working in it in 2024. 

From a regional perspective, for the entire year 2024, the number of employees increased in 6 out of 8 SR regions, the most significant increase was recorded by Košický kraj by more than 5 000 persons (+1.5%) and Bratislavský kraj by 4 000 persons (+1%). The only region with a decrease in the number of employees was Nitriansky kraj, where their number dropped by more than 4 000 employees (-1.3%). The number of employees remained unchanged only in Žilinský kraj.

The employment rate³⁾ of the SR for the entire year 2024 increased by 0.6 p. p. to the current 78.1%. It changed most dynamically in Košický kraj, where it rose by 1.7 p. b. to 72.8%.

At the same time, the number of employees working abroad increased very slightly last year⁶⁾, over 117 000 people went abroad for work in 2024, which was by 0.6% more than in 2023.