(according to the Labour Force Sample Survey)¹⁾

Employment recorded a drop by 2 % in both 2020 and in its last quarter, with a drop of more than 50 thousand employees in the economy over the year

Employment decreased by 2 % year-on-year, in the 4^th quarter of 2020, according to the Labour Force Sample Survey (LFSS). The number of employees ²⁾ reached 2 538,9 thousand in the 4^th quarter, their number was lower by 52,3 thousand lower than in the corresponding period in 2019. Compared with the 3^rd quarter, the seasonally adjusted total employment rose by 2,5 thousand persons (by 0,1 %). The decrease of employment was mainly reflected in the 2^nd quarter, after which the rate of decline slowed down.

The employment rate ³⁾ expressing the share of employees in the total population dropped by 0,9 p.p. to 72,7 %, compared with the 4^th quarter of 2019. After deducting persons working abroad, employment in Slovakia decreased by 1,7 % to 2 420,8 thousand persons.

Out of a total of 19 sectors monitored, the impact of the crisis in the form of job losses was felt in 10 sectors (in the 3^rd quarter it was in 11 sectors and in the 2^nd quarter up to 15 sectors). From the beginning of 2020, there were the greatest employee drops in services, where 17,1 thousand people lost their job (16 %) and in transportation with the decrease of 12,4 thousand persons (by 7,3 %). On the contrary, employment rose more considerably in information and communication by 13,5 %. The number of employees increased relatively the most in the field of real estates by 15,5 %, though they represented a less significant share in the total employment.

The number of employees dropped also in the main sector of economy, in industry by 1,3 %. The decrease of employment continued to deepen also in agriculture, it fell by 21 %, year-on-year.

The decline in employment was recorded in each of the regions, for the third quarter in a row. There was an unfavourable situation in the districts of Prešov and Banská Bystrica which recorded the largest employee drops and the largest decrease of the employment rate. In Prešov, the number of employees decreased by 11,4 thousand, year-on-year, employment rate was the lowest (67,6 %) and it fell by 2 p.p. In Banská Bystrica, similarly, the drop of employees exceeded 10 thousand persons and the drop of unemployment rate was the second highest (by 1,5 p.p.). An increased rate, only slightly by 0,1 p.p., was achieved only in Trnava.

The number of employees working abroad up to 1 year reached 118,1 thousand in the 4^th  quarter. 8,5 % fewer persons left Slovakia for work abroad ⁴⁾ than in the 4 ^th quarter of 2019. The dynamics of the decline accelerated by 2,3 p.p. year-on-year. People worked most often in construction, where the number of persons increased by 11,6 % year-on-year, in industry (decrease by 9,9 %) and in health and social work (drop by 7,8 %). From the European countries, they found employment most often in Austria (32,4 thousand people), despite the largest year-on-year decline. Mostly the employees from Prešov went to work abroad (30 thousand people).

Employment in 2020

On average, in 2020, employment decreased by 2 % year-on-year, the total number of employees dropped by more than 50 thousand to 2 531,3 thousand persons. The number of employees fell mostly in the 2^nd quarter (by 2,5 %), in the following quarters the decrease mitigated. The employment rate was at the level of 72,5 %, with a year-on-year decrease by 0,9 p.p.

The biggest decrease in the number of employees was among young people under 25, the annual decrease exceeded 10 %, while the number of workers over 55 increased slightly. There was a biggest decrease of employees with the lowest educational attainment- basic, by 18,4 %.

In total, out of the 19 sectors monitored, up to 13 sectors felt the impact of the crisis in the form of a decrease in the number of workers. The biggest declines throughout the year were in services, particularly accommodation and food services, where employment fell by 12,3 % and in transportation and storage and in professional, scientific and technical activities, with a decrease equally by 7,6 %. On the contrary, the gains were mainly in information and communication, where the number of employees increased by almost a quarter (by 21,2 %).

Agriculture lost 9,2 % of employees in a year, while in construction the drop was more modest, by 2,9 %. 

At the regional level, employment decreased in 2020 in all regions, the largest decreases were  Prešov by 2,8 % and in the Bratislava and Nitra by 2,5 %. Employment was the best maintained in Trnava, with a year-on-year mildest decrease (by 0,5 %) and it was the only region where employment rate slightly rose by 0,2 p.p. At the same time, the greatest drop of employment rate was in Prešov by 1,8 p.p. which together with Košice reached its lowest level in the SR, below 70 %. The second largest decrease in the annual employment rate was in Bratislava  (by 1,5 p.p.), which, on the contrary, shows the highest employment rate in the country. It was 79,8 % in 2020. The decrease in the employment rate by 1 p.p. and more was also in Žilina and Nitra.

Compared to 2019, the number of people working abroad up to 1 year decreased by 5,2 % to 121,9 thousand. They worked mainly in construction, their number increased by 23,5 %, despite a total decrease. Almost a quarter of those working abroad were from Prešov, but the largest annual increase was in Trnava (by 25,5 %).