Slovenia’s Unemployment Rate Seen Rising to at Least 8% in 2009 – Media

The registered unemployment rate is projected to remain below 7.0% this year but will rise to 8.0% or even 8.2% in 2009, STA quoted Marija Poglajen as saying.

The country’s Statistics Office reported a jobless rate of 6.3% in September. Analysts have said they expect the ranks of the unemployed to swell in the coming months as companies have started slashing jobs to counter the effects of the global crisis.

The number of unemployed Slovenians is projected to rise to between 78,000 and 80,000 at the end of 2009 from 65,000 now, mainly due to the expiry of fixed-term contracts that are not being renewed, Poglajen said.

"Since 75% of new hirings were on a fixed-term basis, we can expect that most will register with the Employment Service," she added.

The last time Slovenia's registered unemployment rate exceeded 8% was

in March 2007, STA said.