According to unofficial data, 75,807 persons were registered as unemployed at the Employment Service of Slovenia on the 24th of May, which is 3,478 less than at the end of April. This information proves that the government measures adopted to help restart the economy are working.
Current unofficial data is a continuation of the success recorded at the end of April when 79,285 unemployed people were registered at the Employment Service of Slovenia, which was 4.1 percent less than in March of 2021, and 10.6 percent less than in April of last year. There were fewer unemployed people registered in all of the regional centres of the Employment Service.
Among those who were registered as unemployed in the month of April, 51.5 percent were women, and 48.5 percent were men. Unemployment was highest among the elderly (37.4 percent) and lower among the young (19.3 percent), 14.4. percent of the unemployed have never had a job before, so they are looking for their first employment, while 15 percent are disabled. 53,4 percent of those who have been unemployed for a long time now still remain unemployed. A decrease in the number of registered unemployed persons was recorded in all of the regions. The highest number of unemployed persons was recorded in the largest, Ljubljana region (23 thousand), followed by the Maribor (almost 11 thousand) and Celje region (8,413), while the lowest number was recorded in the regional offices of the Employment Service in Trbovlje (2,414), Ptuj (3,070) and Nova Gorica (3,235).
Reopening and measures have contributed to the downward trend in unemployment
After the number of unemployed rose sharply during the first wave of the epidemic, the trend slowed down in May last year, with intervention measures playing an important role. In the second wave, which began in October last year, unemployment rose primarily due to a seasonal increase in the number of temporary employment outflows and also due to the effects of the epidemic. Judging by the recent unofficial data of the 24th of May, it can be seen that the reopening of activities has had an additional impact on reducing unemployment. The downward trend in the number of unemployed is obvious, and the measures adopted by the government are clearly helping maintain the trend of the declining number of unemployed.
It is clear that the recent announcements of the Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Janez Cigler Kralj, are coming true. At the beginning of May, he said that a further moderate decline in the number of unemployed is expected, also due to the lifting of certain restrictions that will affect the employment rates in the hospitality and tourism industries. Based on his analysis, he confirmed that we had reduced the increase in the number of unemployed by at least two percentage points with the measures adopted to help preserve jobs. “We are happy and determined to continue to help the employers and the employees,” he explained at the time.
The Commission announced that Slovenia is among the countries with the highest economic growth and the lowest unemployment rate
It is clear that the European Commission also trusts the work of the Slovenian government. Namely, the government announced two weeks ago that the European Commission had improved its forecast for this year’s economic growth for Slovenia in its spring forecast. “In 2021 and 2022, Slovenia will have one of the highest economic growth rates and one of the lowest unemployment rates in the EU.” The forecast of the European Commission is another promising indicator that shows that Slovenia is successful in dealing with the economic and social consequences of the epidemic. Indebtedness will also decrease, as the European Commission forecasts that the gross public debt will amount to 79 percent of GDP in 2021 and only 76.7 percent of GDP in 2022.
Nina Žoher
