10 August 2018
Too few workers, especially in hospitality sector
The STA reports that Slovenia continues to face a shortage of labour, which is corroborated by the rising job vacancy rate. The indicator reached an all-time high of 2.6% in the second quarter, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous quarter.
Hospitality stood out with a 7.4% job vacancy rate in April-June. The sector was trailed by other business activities, which had a 5.2% vacancy rate, according to the latest Statistics Office data released on Thursday.
In total, there were 19,700 job openings on the last work day in May, when the Office collected data. This is an increase of 700 vacancies compared to the previous quarter.
Almost 4,000 vacancies were recorded in manufacturing, which was followed by construction (3,300) and retail trade (2,900).
Broken down by size, companies with ten or more employees had 12,300 or 62.5% of vacant jobs, according to the Office, which collects data on job vacancy since 2008.
Exports and imports show economy growing
In a second report, the STA notes that Slovenia's merchandise exports rose 11.2% in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period last year, whereas imports grew at a slightly slower pace, 10.9%. The export-import ratio stood at 102.8%, the Statistics Office said on Thursday.
The figures show Slovenia's economy humming along, but the monthly data also indicate that growth, though still robust, is slowing down.
In June exports were up 9% year-on-year and import growth stood at 8.4%, down from double-digit growth rates recorded every month of 2018 except March.
EU member states accounted for 76.6% of exports in June and 78% of imports, with Germany and Italy the principle export destinations and sources of imports.
Industrial output up 7.2%
Finally, the STA also reports that Slovenia's industrial output saw a 7.2% rise in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period last year, mostly on the back of growth in manufacturing, the Statistics Office said on Friday. At the monthly level, output edged down by 0.5% in June.
At the annual level, industrial output increased by 7.7% in manufacturing in January-June. Growth was also recorded in electricity, gas and steam supply (by 2.9%), while output dropped by 2.8% in mining and quarrying.
In June alone, industrial output grew by 5.8% year-on-year, while it edged down by 0.5% at the monthly level.
Output in mining and quarrying grew by 11.2%, in manufacturing by 6.2% and in electricity, gas and steam supply by 3.2% at the yearly level.
At the monthly level, output in mining and quarrying dropped by 1.3%, and edged down by 0.4% in manufacturing. It remained flat in electricity, gas and steam supply, the Statistics Office said.
A monthly drop of 0.9% was also registered in revenue, but it increased by 6.1% year-on-year. At the annual level, revenue increased the most in intermediate goods industries, by 8.2%.
The value of stocks of finished and unfinished production edged up by 0.1% at the monthly level, and was higher by 7.6% year-on-year.
