LJUBLJANA, July 3 -- The number of jobless people in Slovenia fell to 43,369 by the end of June, which is the lowest level since the country's independence in 1991, the national Employment Service said on Wednesday.

It said the number was 1.6 percent lower than in the previous month and 6.1 percent lower than in June 2023.

Export-oriented Slovenia expects economic growth of some 2.4 percent this year versus 1.6 percent in 2023, according to the government's forecast. Its economy has been expanding ever since 2021.

Continuous growth led to higher job creation and many companies are complaining that it is harder to find adequate employees.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued a report on Slovenia on Wednesday, in which it said Slovenia's economy "proved resilient to external shocks" so far, but added that improving fiscal sustainability is "a key challenge."

Labour shortages are further increasing wage pressure. Gross wages rose by 7 percent year-on-year in the first four months of this year, according to recent figures published by the country's Statistical Office.

  - Xinhua