Slovak Labor Market Maintains Positive Momentum

On a global scale, employers in India (43%), the United States (34%) and Mexico (33%) have the most aggressive hiring plans. At the other end of the spectrum are expectations of the weakest employment growth in Argentina (0%), Romania (6%) and Greece (7%). In Slovakia, the most promising industry is the Communication Services industry which has an employment expectation of 35%, which is up by 38 percentage points from Q1 2025 and 46 points from one year ago. The net labor market position in Slovakia, which has been adjusted to remove the effect of seasonal variations, currently stands at 12%. This is 2 percentage points lower than the previous quarter and 2 percentage points lower than the same quarter last year. The net labor market index for Q2 2025 is 25% globally, 3 percentage points lower than a year ago and the same as the previous quarter. "Slovak employers are looking to the second quarter of 2018 with optimism, particularly in the communication sector where hiring plans are rising at a record high. The sector expects to hire 35% more people, which makes Slovakia one of the leading countries in this field. Enterprises are hiring digital talent and providing attractive terms and conditions to keep their position in the market. Although there are differences in the regions and sectors, the data shows that the Slovak labour market is still robust and offers room for growth," stated Zuzana Rumiz, General Manager of ManpowerGroup Slovakia. In Slovakia, six out of nine sectors are expecting to increase their workforce in Q2 2025. Communication Services sector is the leader with an expected job growth of 35%, which is a 38 percentage points decrease from the previous quarter but 46 points higher than a year ago. Right after that is the Transport, Logistics and Automotive sector with a 29% employment outlook, which is 8 percentage points lower than the previous quarter. Healthcare and Life Sciences is third with 25%, which is up by 14 percentage points from the previous quarter. Despite the fact that overall employment expectations are positive, three sectors expect negative employment growth. The largest quarter-to-quarter decreases were seen in the Energy and Utilities sector (−40 percentage points) and the Financials and Real Estate sector (−34 percentage points). Regarding the geographical distribution of employment, three of the four regions of Slovakia expect employment growth in the second quarter, while one expects a decline. The most competitive region is Western Slovakia with a Net Employment Outlook (NEO) of 21. It is the only region that reports higher employment expectations than the previous quarter, up by 16 points and 3 points from Q2 2024. This is the highest NEO reported in Western Slovakia since the start of the tracking in Q4 2011. New hiring plans are positive in Eastern Slovakia (14%). Employment prospects in Central Slovakia have worsened (3%). Employers in Bratislava have reduced their expectations by 24 percentage points in the last quarter and the net employment index is -1%. In Slovakia, five out of six organizational size categories expect to grow their workforce in Q2. The strongest hiring plans are seen in large companies (1,000-4,999 employees) with a net employment index of 27%, which is up by 41 points from the previous quarter and down by 3 points from the same quarter last year. This is significant because it is a quarterly recovery that sees Slovakia become the second best performing country in terms of employment growth for large organizations globally. "Employment growth in Q2 2025 is mainly driven by company expansion particularly in the Communication Services, Healthcare, Automotive and Logistics sectors. Despite the fact that 58% of organizations are using AI for hiring and talent development, one-third of the employers argued that essential competencies such as ethical decision making, strategic thinking and problem solving are still unique. AI is a valuable tool, but people continue to be the most valuable asset," said Zuzana Rumiz, General Manager of ManpowerGroup Slovakia.