The average gross monthly salary of employees in Prague reached 52,833 Czech crowns in the second quarter of 2023, making it the highest among all regions. It surpassed the national average by 22.3%. Compared to the second quarter of 2022, nominal salaries increased by 6.4%, but in real terms (after accounting for an 11.1% inflation), they decreased by 4.2%. In Prague, the nominal salary increase was the lowest, and the real decrease in salaries was the highest.
In the second quarter of 2023, Prague, with an average gross monthly salary of 52,833 CZK, was one of the two regions that exceeded the Czech national average (43,193 CZK). The second region with a salary above the national average was Central Bohemia, with an average gross salary of 45,477 Czech crowns. Salaries were just below the national average in South Moravia (41,912 CZK) and Hradec Králové region (41,249 CZK). The lowest salaries were once again recorded for employees in the Karlovy Vary region (37,072 CZK) and the Pardubice region (38,275 CZK). While the region with the highest salary (Prague) exceeded the national average by 22.3% in the second quarter of 2023, the region with the lowest salary (Karlovy Vary) had a salary 14.2% below the Czech average. The region with the second-highest salary (Central Bohemia) exceeded the Czech average by 5.3%, and the region with the second-lowest salary (Pardubice) had an average salary 11.4% below the Czech average.
The average gross monthly salary in Prague increased by 6.4% annually. Accounting for inflation in the Czech Republic, which reached 11.1% in the second quarter of 2023, there was a real salary decrease of 4.2%. This decrease was lower compared to the first quarter of this year when Prague experienced a real salary decrease of 8.6%. Throughout the Czech Republic, nominal salaries increased by 7.7% annually; after considering inflation, there was a real salary decrease of 3.1%. The inflation rate in the second quarter of 2023 was the lowest since the first quarter of 2022.
In the second quarter of 2023, Prague had a total of 867,500 employees. Other regions with a high number of employees in the second quarter of 2023 were the most populated regions, namely South Moravia (465,600 employees), Central Bohemia (417,600), and Moravia-Silesia (415,800). Compared to the second quarter of 2022, an increase in the number of employees was only observed in Prague (by 30,800, 3.7%) and in the Pilsen region (by 2,600, 1.2%). A decrease in the number of employees compared to the previous year affected 11 regions but was only moderate, ranging from -0.1% in Central Bohemia to -0.7% in the Vysočina region. Average salaries in the last quarter of the year are generally higher due to extraordinary bonuses paid at the end of the year.
