Czech Household Income Edges Up, Corporate Profits Dip in Q2 2025

In the second quarter of 2025, Czech households recorded only a slight improvement in their finances, while companies saw a small decline in profitability, according to the latest sector accounts released by the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO).

Seasonally adjusted data show that household income, including both monetary and non-monetary components, rose by just 0.1 percent compared with the previous quarter. Consumption per person increased more strongly, by 0.8 percent. The saving rate also ticked higher, with households setting aside 18.4 percent of their income, a rise of 0.6 percentage point compared with the previous quarter but still two percentage points lower than a year earlier. Real wage income from employment grew by 4.1 percent compared with the same period in 2024, and average monthly pay reached CZK 52,560, representing a 1.4 percent increase over the first quarter and a 4.1 percent gain year-on-year. Household investment slipped slightly to 10.3 percent of income.

Non-financial corporations faced rising costs and weaker profitability. The profit share fell to 43.6 percent, down 0.1 percentage point on the previous quarter and 1.5 percentage points compared with the same quarter last year. Labour costs rose by more than eight percent year-on-year, while the corporate investment rate remained steady at 26.3 percent, though this represented a decline compared with mid-2024.

At the same time, the CZSO refined its estimate of national output. Gross domestic product expanded by 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter and by 2.6 percent compared with the second quarter of 2024.

Some discrepancies between the press release and data published on the CZSO’s official portal are worth noting. The quarterly sector accounts published on the statistical office’s website suggest household income increased by 0.3 percent rather than 0.1 percent, and that the saving rate fell by 1.5 percentage points rather than rising. Eurostat data on non-financial corporations also indicate that the scale of change in profit shares in the Czech Republic diverges somewhat from broader EU trends, where quarterly movements tend to be smaller.

Despite these inconsistencies, the overall picture remains clear: household incomes in the Czech Republic are growing only slowly, corporate margins are under pressure from rising costs, and GDP growth is steady but moderate.

Source: CZSO