Slovakia: GDP growth ticks up in Q1
The Slovak economy continued to grow at a solid pace in the first quarter. According to preliminary data released by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) on 15 May, the economy expanded 3.6% annually in Q1, accelerating marginally from the previous quarter’s 3.5% growth. In the same period, total employment increased 2.2% over Q1 2017 and 0.4% compared to Q4 2017.
Healthy growth in retail sales throughout the quarter on the back of falling unemployment suggests private consumption continued to support the economy. Moreover, upbeat business confidence, together with favorable financing conditions, likely buttressed fixed investment, which should have also benefited from rising inflows of EU funds.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP growth in Q1 came in at 0.9%, matching Q4’s figure. More detailed data will be released on 7 June.