Wage dynamics
7.4
% yoy nominal
Current value (denomination)
7.1
% yoy nominal
Last quarter's value
Wage dynamics
Comments
Stronger household incomes outpaced house price growth for six quarters
According to the CSO statistics, property prices, which include land and family houses, rose by 2% quarter-on-quarter in the final quarter of 2025. This slowed from the previous average 2.6% increase in the previous four quarters. Although the income side of demand is still lagging, real household incomes accelerated more sharply at 1.4% q-o-q (up nearly 3% in nominal terms) at the end of last year. And so did the household savings rate, which rose to 19.7%. Moreover, both figures were positively revised and there was a slight positive revision to GDP growth in the final quarter of 2025, albeit with more limited effects on the economic outlook.
Wages closed stronger last year and could add another 4% in real terms this year
Wage growth remained strong at the end of 2025. Average wages rose by 7.4% year-on-year and added 7.2% for the year as a whole. Thanks to low inflation, this meant real wage growth of 4.7%, higher than forecast. While nominal growth should slow this year, real wages may continue to grow solidly. The average nominal wage reached CZK 49.2 thousand last year, surpassing CZK 50 thousand at the end of the year on a seasonally adjusted basis and reaching almost CZK 51 thousand in market sectors. The median wage of CZK 42 thousand was approximately 85% of the average wage.
Service prices as a signal for setting (i.e. falling) CNB interest rates
Comment by Jaromír Šindel, Chief Economist of the CBA: The analysis summarizes the government's regulatory steps that will further slow consumer price growth this year, probably well below 2%. What does this mean for the CBA, which seems to be starting to deflate the pigeon balloons, at least more than at the end of last year? Given its earlier communications, where inflation is headed in 2027 should be key, which will also indicate the direction of core inflation in the months ahead. And it is not just the case of still strongly rising services prices that are the focus of this analysis, the first part of the triptych ahead of the CNB's February board meeting.
Volatile food prices pushed November inflation down to 2.1% amid still strong 7.1% wage growth
Comment by Jaromír Šindel, Chief Economist of the CBA: Consumer price growth slowed to 2.1% yoy in November. The main reason was a deeper decline in food prices, partly due to a slowdown in core inflation from the recent 2.8%. Thus, although inflation surprised positively, food price volatility and still strong rapid wage growth of 7.1% in Q3 will dampen the CNB's willingness to return to rate cuts. And the same reasons dampen the risks to the CBA's outlook for consumer inflation next year at around 2.2%. There remains a significant gap in the recovery in real gross wages between the market and non-market sectors.
Weak July industrial and services recovery hinders continuation of solid GDP growth
Economic commentary by Jaromír Šindel, Chief Economist of the CBA: Although the economy breathed a half-percent growth in the second quarter, the July figures were rather disappointing and suggest a cooling. However, the Czech economy is generating upside risks to inflation, which limits the room for manoeuvre of the CNB, which is likely to stick to the CNB's 3.5% terminal interest rate thesis. August's registered unemployment confirmed a worse trend, which, however, is not confirmed by other data.
GDP revision: this year's growth is headed above 2% (depending on the Trump deal) thanks to stronger consumption amid higher saving rate
Economic commentary by Jaromir Šindel, Chief Economist of the CBA