Economy, jobs and prices in Košický kraj (Východné Slovensko, Slovakia): official figures
GDP per person was 24,800 purchasing power standards (PPS) in 2024, 62% of the EU average (75% for Slovakia); 5th highest of 8 regions in Slovakia.
How big is the economy of Košický kraj?
The local economy produced €15.5 billion of output (GDP) in 2024.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many people work in Košický kraj?
About 292,390 people worked in Košický kraj in 2024 (employment by place of work).
Source: Eurostat · saved copyWhat is the unemployment rate in Košice Region?
The registered unemployment rate in the Košice Region was 6.77% in September 2026, 1.55 percentage points above the national rate of 5.22%, and the 3rd highest among Slovakia's eight kraje.
Source: Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (Ústredie práce, sociálnych vecí a rodiny, ÚPSVaR) · saved copyHow many unemployed people are there in Košice Region?
Labour offices in the Košice Region had 31,476 registered jobseekers at the end of September 2026, 18.5% of all jobseekers in Slovakia; counting every registered jobseeker rather than only those available for work, the unemployment rate was 8.50%.
Source: Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (Ústredie práce, sociálnych vecí a rodiny, ÚPSVaR) · saved copyHow many job vacancies are there in Košice Region?
Employers had reported 5,608 job vacancies in the Košice Region by the end of September 2026, which works out at 5.6 registered jobseekers per vacancy (Slovakia: 1.2), the 3rd highest ratio of the eight kraje.
Source: Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (Ústredie práce, sociálnych vecí a rodiny, ÚPSVaR) · saved copyWhich district in Košice Region has the highest unemployment?
Of the 11 districts (okresy) in the Košice Region, Rožňava had the highest share of available jobseekers in September 2026 at 8.22% (4th of Slovakia's 79 districts) and Košice III the lowest at 2.78% (67th).
Source: Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (Ústredie práce, sociálnych vecí a rodiny, ÚPSVaR) · saved copyWhat is the main industry in Košický kraj?
The largest part of the economy of Košický kraj in 2024 was trade, transport, hospitality and communications, at 27.4% of gross value added, followed by finance, property and business services (23.0%).
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow industrial is Košický kraj?
Industry (manufacturing, mining and energy) made up 21.4% of output in 2024, against 23.4% for Slovakia.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow fast is the economy of Košický kraj growing?
Gross value added rose from €8.6 billion in 2015 to €14.0 billion in 2024 in current prices, an increase of 64% before inflation.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyAre jobs growing in Košický kraj?
The number of people working in Košický kraj rose by 6.1% between 2015 and 2024, to 292,390.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyMore figures
- Available jobseekers made up 4.85% of the 516,596 working-age residents (15 to 64) of the Košice Region in September 2026, against 4.02% nationally. Source: Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (Ústredie práce, sociálnych vecí a rodiny, ÚPSVaR) · saved copy
- In September 2026, 3,609 people signed on as jobseekers in the Košice Region and 3,353 left the register, 68% of the leavers because they found work. Source: Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (Ústredie práce, sociálnych vecí a rodiny, ÚPSVaR) · saved copy
- Women accounted for 54.0% of registered jobseekers in the Košice Region in September 2026 (national share 54.9%), and people under 25 for 15.4%. Source: Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (Ústredie práce, sociálnych vecí a rodiny, ÚPSVaR) · saved copy
How Košický kraj compares with other regions in Slovakia
Registered unemployment rate (ÚPSVaR), % (2026-09)
Košický kraj ranks 3 of 8, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Registered unemployment rate (ÚPSVaR), % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prešovský kraj | 8.11% |
| 2 | Banskobystrický kraj | 6.94% |
| 3 | Košický kraj | 6.77% |
| 4 | Žilinský kraj | 4.29% |
| 5 | Nitriansky kraj | 4.19% |
| 6 | Trenčiansky kraj | 3.88% |
| 7 | Trnavský kraj | 3.75% |
Available jobseekers as % of working-age population (PDU) (2026-09)
Košický kraj ranks 3 of 8, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Available jobseekers as % of working-age population (PDU) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prešovský kraj | 6.00% |
| 2 | Banskobystrický kraj | 5.46% |
| 3 | Košický kraj | 4.85% |
| 4 | Žilinský kraj | 3.43% |
| 5 | Nitriansky kraj | 3.20% |
| 6 | Trenčiansky kraj | 3.05% |
| 7 | Trnavský kraj | 2.93% |
Registered jobseekers per reported job vacancy (2026-09)
Košický kraj ranks 3 of 8, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Registered jobseekers per reported job vacancy |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prešovský kraj | 14.6 |
| 2 | Banskobystrický kraj | 6.2 |
| 3 | Košický kraj | 5.6 |
| 4 | Žilinský kraj | 1.7 |
| 5 | Trenčiansky kraj | 1.0 |
| 6 | Nitriansky kraj | 0.8 |
| 7 | Trnavský kraj | 0.6 |
Reported job vacancies per 1,000 working-age residents (2026-09)
Košický kraj ranks 7 of 8, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Reported job vacancies per 1,000 working-age residents |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Trnavský kraj | 49.2 |
| 3 | Nitriansky kraj | 46.0 |
| 4 | Trenčiansky kraj | 32.5 |
| 5 | Žilinský kraj | 22.4 |
| 6 | Banskobystrický kraj | 11.0 |
| 7 | Košický kraj | 10.9 |
| 8 | Prešovský kraj | 5.1 |
Share of output from industry (manufacturing, mining and energy) (2024)
Košický kraj ranks 6 of 8, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from industry (manufacturing, mining and energy) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Trnavský kraj | 35.2% |
| 3 | Trenčiansky kraj | 27.8% |
| 4 | Žilinský kraj | 23.5% |
| 5 | Banskobystrický kraj | 22.3% |
| 6 | Košický kraj | 21.4% |
| 7 | Prešovský kraj | 21.2% |
| 8 | Bratislavský kraj | 13.6% |
Share of output from finance, property and business services (2024)
Košický kraj ranks 2 of 8, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from finance, property and business services |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bratislavský kraj | 33.9% |
| 2 | Košický kraj | 23.0% |
| 3 | Žilinský kraj | 23.0% |
| 4 | Banskobystrický kraj | 18.8% |
| 5 | Trnavský kraj | 18.4% |
| 6 | Prešovský kraj | 17.9% |
| 7 | Nitriansky kraj | 16.4% |
Share of output from public administration, education, health and other services (2024)
Košický kraj ranks 7 of 8, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from public administration, education, health and other services |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Banskobystrický kraj | 21.4% |
| 3 | Prešovský kraj | 20.9% |
| 4 | Bratislavský kraj | 19.3% |
| 5 | Trnavský kraj | 18.7% |
| 6 | Žilinský kraj | 18.0% |
| 7 | Košický kraj | 16.5% |
| 8 | Nitriansky kraj | 13.0% |
More on Košický kraj: overview · education and schools · poverty and living standards · government budget · government and politics · Východné Slovensko · Slovakia
Sources
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gdp: GDP per person, PPS (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3bf0fc662f56…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gdp: GDP, million euros (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 096e15e5fdb3…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3empers: Employment, thousand people (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 664e4e3a6dc0…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3empers: Employment (thousand persons) by NUTS 3 region and industry, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 222a97c302d3…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gva: Gross value added at basic prices by NUTS 3 region and industry, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 c656e8563bdf…)
- Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (Ústredie práce, sociálnych vecí a rodiny, ÚPSVaR): Monthly statistics on the number and structure of jobseekers and job vacancies, September 2026 (Mesačná štatistika, UoZaVPM_MS_2609), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 ea75f62f042b…)
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