Labour Inflow from New Members to Slovenia Doubles after EU Enlargement

Ljubljana, 9 April

The first year of Slovenia's membership of the EU has seen no major disruption on the labour market despite a considerable inflow of workers from the new member states, which almost doubled. The number of Slovenians who found new employment in the EU, on the other hand, has been low as expected.

The Slovenian labour market has witnessed a considerable arrival of workers from the new member states who were unable to find employment in old EU members because of labour market restrictions. They were attracted by a better social and economic status offered in Slovenia, according to Miha Sepec, who is in charge of the employment of foreigners at the National Employment Service.
Most of them found employment in construction (mainly from Slovakia) and the metal industry (welders from Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic), while there are also butchers from Hungary and truckers for international transport.
Employers who hired foreign labour in the past have now turned to the new member states for workforce due to a restriction quota imposed by Slovenia on working permits for citizens from third countries.
Over 40,700 foreign citizens were registered as employed in Slovenia at the end of December 2004, with as many as 36,200 coming from the countries of former Yugoslavia and about 2,280 from the EU. The number of the latter increased by 1,070 since 30 April.
The highest increase was noted in the labour force from Slovakia, which increased form 302 in April 2004 to 1,047 in December. The number of Polish workers was up by 90 to 123, the number of Czech workers almost doubled to 100, and the number of Hungarians employed in Slovenia doubled as well, to 80 workers.
Workers from other new member states have shown no particular interest in getting a job in Slovenia. There was one person from each Estonia and Malta employed in Slovenia at the end of 2004, and two from each Latvia and Cyprus, according to the Employment Service.
No major changes have been recorded in the employment of citizens from old member states after 1 May 2004. The number of Britons employed in Slovenia, for example, rose by 20, to 80 at the end of December.
The Employment office expects a further increase in the inflow of workers from new member states to Slovenia. These workers are expected to gradually replace the workforce coming from the countries of former Yugoslavia, according to Sepec.
The Slovenian government had expected an increased labour inflow from the new member states and countries of the EU and the EEA that offer services in Slovenia. Since it was impossible to predict the extent of the inflow, a quota was imposed on working permits for the workers from third countries.
Slovenians, meanwhile, are mainly interested in getting jobs in the old member states, most of which imposed labour market restrictions for the new member states.
The Slovenian EURES - European Job Mobility Portal service, meanwhile said that 322 Slovenians found employment in the EU between 1 May and the end of December 2004.
Valerija Okorn, the head of EURES Slovenia, said there is an imbalance between the demand and offer on the job market. A major obstacles for Slovenian job-seekers is the labour market restriction in most old member states, according to Okorn, while the lack of foreign language knowledge is also a problem. Moreover, Slovenian job-seekers are reluctant to migrate.

Labour Inflow from New Members to Slovenia Doubles after EU Enlargement

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