Survey: Most People in Slovakia and Czech Republic Have Problems Getting By

Bratislava, December 10 (TASR) - A total of 70 percent of people in Slovakia and 52 percent in the Czech Republic (CR) have problems getting by, with the decline of real salaries, such as in the last two quarters, not being seen since the split of Czechoslovakia, according to a survey conducted by Profesia and LMC. They collected data at the turn of October and November from 800 employees from Slovakia and 1,000 employees in the Czech Republic. "It'll be similar in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, we see a huge development in salaries, nominally of course they continue to grow, but real salaries in the Czech Republic have fallen by 10 percent year-on-year for the second quarter in a row, which is the deepest drop in the history of the independent Czech Republic. In Slovakia, with regard to even higher inflation and a similar rate of salary growth, the real decrease in salaries will be very similar to the disposable income of households. This is something that has never happened in the history of either independent Slovakia or the Czech Republic," pointed out head of analysis and communication at LMC Tomas Ervin Dombrovsky. A total of 31 percent of Slovaks admitted very serious or serious income problems. In the Czech Republic, 19 percent of respondents expressed their opinion in this way. A third (33 percent) of people in the Czech Republic and 39 percent in Slovakia have moderate problems getting by, said Dombrovsky, adding that people are forced to earn extra money, in Slovakia 20 percent of people earn extra in addition to their main income and in the Czech Republic it is 25 percent. am/mcs