CEE salary gap

On the radar

• In Romania, the trade deficit between January and September increased to EUR 25.5 billion.
• Slovakia posted a trade surplus in September (EUR 542 million).
• Today, October’s inflation will be released in Hungary (8.30 AM CET) and Czechia (9 AM CET final estimate with breakdown).
• In Slovakia and Slovenia, we will see industrial output growth in September.

Economic developments

Average annual full-time adjusted gross salaries in CEE remain well below the EU27 average of approximately EUR 41,000 in 2025, reflecting persistent income disparities between the region and the rest of the EU. Slovenia leads the CEE countries, with an average annual salary of around EUR 34,000, equivalent to 90% of the EU average. Croatia and Czechia follow, with salaries reaching approximately 65% and 62% of the EU average, respectively. Poland ranks somewhat lower, at around 57%, while Slovakia, Romania and Hungary remain close to or below 50% of the EU benchmark. Hungary records the lowest average annual salary among the countries shown, at approximately EUR 18,000. On one hand, wage gaps across the region likely reflect differences in productivity and income levels across the region. On the other hand, wage gaps point to still existing labor cost advantage in CEE (in nominal terms, not productivity adjusted). Despite wage convergence over recent decades, there is still room for further catch-up, particularly in the lower-income CEE economies.

Market movements

In Czechia, Deputy PM Havlicek said the coalition will consider sectoral taxes on banks and possibly insurers, telecoms, defense firms and retailers to curb a proposed 2027 budget deficit without laying out details. In Poland, the central banker Kotecki called for fiscal consolidation over four years to cut the deficit from about 7% of GDP to 3% or below, through measures including curbing preferential VAT rates or PIT/CIT reform. Bond auctions across the region include Romania (the Finance Ministry sold RON2.9bn of 2029 bond at an average yield of 6.60%), Croatia (the Finance Ministry opened retail subscriptions for a targeted EUR 1bn 364-day T-bill yielding 2.85%) and Czechia (the Finance Ministry will offer CZK 2–3bn each of the 5.00% 2030, 5.30% 2035 and 4.95% 2037 government bonds on November 11). Long term yields have been declining lately across the whole region. At the same time currencies have strengthened somewhat against euro. Finally in Serbia, following the president's resignation, an early presidential election must be called by 27 November and held by 27 December 2026.

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