Short-term unemployment caused a slight rise in both the number of unemployed people and the unemployment rate in the 3rd quarter of the year
In the 3rd quarter of 2025, both the number of unemployed people and the unemployment rate experienced a slight year-on-year increase, but remained at historically low levels. The number of unemployed increased year-on-year in 5 out of the 8 regions, with the most significant changes observed in eastern Slovakia.
The number of unemployed1) in Slovakia in the 3rd quarter of 2025 reached 152.3 thousand people, increasing year-on-year by 2.9%. The number of people without work rose by 4.2 thousand compared to the corresponding period last year. This was confirmed by the latest statistics from the Labour Force Survey (LFSS)2).
The current number of unemployed in the 3rd quarter of 2025 was higher than in the previous two quarters but still at historically low levels. This upward trend began after a long-term decline that had lasted since 2021, when the new methodology3) began to be applied.
The total number of unemployed people increased by 0.8% compared to the previous 2nd quarter (after seasonal adjustment), reaching 149.7 thousand persons.
The reference unemployment rate4) rose slightly to 5.5%, with a year-on-year increase by 0.1 percentage point (p.p.). The unemployment rate remained below 6% since the 2nd quarter of 2023.
The Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic corrected the data on Unemployment in the 3rd quarter of 2025 after the initial publication deadline. The correction was made due to the inadvertent use of preliminary data instead of final data during the preparation of the underlying materials.
The entire year-on-year increase by 4.2 thousand unemployed persons was almost entirely due to a rise in short-term unemployment (an increase of 4.2 thousand persons), involving people who had been out of work for less than a year. While last year there were just under 54 thousand such individuals, their number rose to almost 58 thousand in the 3rd quarter of 2025.
Long-term unemployed (out of work for one year or more) remain the larger group within the unemployment structure (62%), and their number remained unchanged year-on-year.
The classification by last employer shows that most unemployed people last worked in industry (14%), trade (9.5%), and construction (7%). At the same time, construction recorded the largest year-on-year increase in unemployed persons (by 2.9 thousand people), followed by transportation and storage (by 2.4 thousand people) and education (by 2 thousand people). Overall, public administration, education, arts, and entertainment sectors reached historically highest levels. On a positive note, there was a significant decrease in unemployed persons who last worked in the professional, scientific and technical activities sector, as well as in the information and communication sector (together by 3.8 thousand people).
A significant share of jobseekers continued to be people who had never worked before. Currently, this group totals 48.5 thousand persons, even after a continued year-on-year decrease by more than 10%. In the long term, these are mostly young people under 34 years of age, including school graduates (who make up just under two thirds). A positive development is that the share of jobseekers who have never worked within the overall unemployed population dropped to 32%, down from last year’s 38%.
The highest number of unemployed among SR’s eight regions persisted in Prešovský, Košický, and Banskobystrický kraj, where between 41 and 28 thousand people were without work. Overall, the number of unemployed increased year-on-year in 5 out of 8 SR regions, with the most significant rise –15% – in Košický kraj (by 4.6 thousand unemployed persons). There was an increase of around 10% also in Nitriansky, Žilinský, Bratislavský, and Banskobystrický kraj.
On the contrary, a decline in the number of unemployed was recorded in only 3 regions. The most significant absolute decrease – by 3 000 people – was in Prešovský kraj, where the total number of unemployed dropped to 41 000. The most dynamic relative decrease in the number of unemployed was recorded in Trenčiansky kraj (17.4%) and also in Trnavský kraj (10.4%).
Out of the 8 regions, half had a very low unemployment rate below 3% – specifically Trenčiansky, Bratislavský, Nitriansky, and Žilinský kraj. Trnavský kraj was also below the national average, with an unemployment rate of 3.4%. Conversely, the highest unemployment rates persisted in Prešovský kraj (10.9%) and Košický kraj (9.5%)
In terms of development, there was the most significant deterioration year-on-year in Košický kraj, where the unemployment rate increased from last year’s level of 8.3% to the current 9.5%. The most notable improvement was recorded in the Prešovský kraj, where the unemployment rate decreased to 10.4% from last year’s 11%. However, even this was not enough for the region to shed its negative distinction as the area with the highest unemployment rate.
Interestingly, in the Trenčiansky kraj, following a year-on-year decrease, the unemployment rate reached a historically low value of 2.5%. This put the region on par with the Bratislavský kraj, which has long held the position of the region with the lowest unemployment rate in Slovakia.
In total, for the first three quarters of 2025, there were 147.8 thousand unemployed people in Slovakia, a figure comparable to the same period last year. The year-on-year decline was only slight, at 0.5% (0.7 thousand people). A positive development was Slovakia’s low nine-month unemployment rate of 5.4%5).
Among the positive sectoral trends, the slowdown in the increase of unemployed persons from professional, scientific and technical activities (down by 1.7 thousand people) can be highlighted. Encouraging decreases were also observed in the age group of young people aged 15 to 24 (down by 6.9 thousand people) and among those with only primary education (down by 6.4 thousand people), although the latter still accounted for one-third of the unemployed.
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