Report: Slovenia Made Only Limited Progress in Employment

Brussels, 27 January

Just like several other EU members, Slovenia made only limited progress in carrying out employment priority tasks in 2004, says a report released by the European Commission on Thursday.

This is particularly true when it comes to rising employment levels among those older than 55. The employment rate in this group is 23.5 percent, putting Slovenia almost at the bottom of all EU members, the 2004/2005 Joint Employment Report for the EU says.
There is a need, the Commission also notes, for a more comprehensive policy of active aging. Such a policy would encourage the stay of older workers on the labour market and change early retirement trends.
The report notes that progress has been made in public employment services: the Employment Service is making efforts to improve the quality of services, yet it would also make sense to use the potential of private employment agencies.
Progress has been made in addressing the issue of the high tax burden on labour (taxation of low-wage earners, at 40.2% in 2003, is above the EU average) through the recent tax reform package, which reduces income tax on lowest wages and labour costs for enterprises as of 2005.
According to the report, this should contribute in particular to reducing undeclared work, which new official estimates establish at 6.9% of GDP, well below previous estimates. However, the overall policy response to undeclared work remains limited.
Also, promoting flexibility and security of employment is in progress. Particular attention is paid to the anticipation of change and company restructuring through the constitution of "Labour Funds" available for workers at risk of being redundant to improve their employment opportunities by training, counseling and seeking new employment.
Slovenia failed to fully implement EU recommendations in any of the reviewed issues. Yet this is also true of other member states, some of which have been assessed by the Commission as having made insufficient progress. The overall assessment therefore is that employment is the EU's Achilles heel.
According to the report, employment in the EU is stagnating and productivity growth is faltering. Employment currently stands at 63 percent, and if the Union is to achieve its stated goal of 70 percent until 2010, 22 million new jobs must be created.

Report: Slovenia Made Only Limited Progress in Employment

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