All analysis from category Macro comment
Macro comment
Retail in January: Strong post-Christmas sales
Czech households were a little cautious with their spending over Christmas, but they made up for it in January. Retail sales rose by 1.0 percent month-on-month at the beginning of the year and by 5.0 percent year-on-year. Domestic demand will again be a key contributor to GDP growth this year.
Macro comment
Industrial production in January: Solid growth in new orders
The situation in industry is gradually improving. Production declined in 2022 and 2023, but increased slightly last year as new orders began to grow. In January this year, production volume fell by 2.6 percent month-on-month, but rose by 2.8 percent year-on-year. The volume of new orders rose by almost 10 percent, while employment continued to decline.
Macro comment
Unemployment in February: Claims on the state budget are rising
Although economic growth has accelerated, the situation on the labor market is not improving. On the contrary. The unemployment rate reached 5.2 percent in February, or 4.8 percent after seasonal adjustment, which is the highest figure since January 2017. The number of job seekers registered with the labor office rose to 381,705, which is more than 55,000 more than in February last year.
Macro comment
Foreign trade in January: Solid results before the oil shock
The Czech Republic's trade balance remains firmly in positive territory. In January, the foreign trade surplus reached CZK 19.3 billion. This is CZK 1.5 billion more than a year ago. Exports fell by 0.9 percent year-on-year, while imports decreased by 1.3 percent. However, January this year had one working day less than last year, so after adjustment, exports would have increased by 2.5 percent and imports by 2.0 percent.
Macro comment
Wages in Q4: Two years of rapid wage growth
During the inflationary wave in 2022 and 2023, real wages fell significantly. Fortunately, the situation began to improve again in 2024 and last year. In the last quarter of last year, the average wage increased by 7.4 percent year-on-year to CZK 52,283, which represents a real increase of 5.1 percent after adjusting for inflation.
