The buying power of the average Czech rose by an average of 4.7 percent, according to the Czech Statistics Office, the fastest jump since 2002. This came on the back of a rise in wages of 8.1 percent to CZK 31,885, or nearly 6 percent if corrected for inflation. Surprisingly, the professions that did the best were teachers, people in the health industry and public sector employees, as they saw their wages rise 10 percent. This year is unlikely to be as positive, however, as the wind is coming out of the sails of the economy. GDP growth slowed last year to 2.9 percent from 4.5 percent in 2017 and economists warn that momentum could go on slowing into 2020.
