By: Vida Kocjan
Slovenia exceeded the level of economic performance before the epidemic in the third quarter of this year, which is an extraordinary achievement. Not so long ago, it was considered that we will not exceed 2019 in the first half of next year, i.e., the time before the biggest health crisis in the country. The latest data also show that Slovenia’s economic growth in the expiring year will be about one percentage point higher than forecast and will be around 7 percent.
In particular, private consumption is growing faster than expected, supported not only by consumer adaptation and related activities to the changed situation, but also by more favourable labour market conditions. We have the highest employment in the country, there has never been more than a million citizens employed before. Thus, the unemployment rate is also at a record low; around 66,000 jobseekers are registered at the Employment Service, which is at the level of a successful year in 2008. Never before and never since has it been like this.
High employment and low unemployment also mean fewer social transfers, and citizens can maintain and improve their well-being through their work. All this is a great success.
Household incomes are higher, because of which consumption increases, economic growth increases, and tax revenues to the state treasury also increase.
The reason for this is undoubtedly the timely and correct measures of the government coalition, which helped both the economy and the population with nine anti-corona packages. Now the tenth anti-corona package is being implemented, which brings new benefits not only to the economy, but also to pensioners and the socially weaker part of the population in general.
The epidemic and the related health crisis are not over yet, but there is still a lot of uncertainty in terms of the health situation. Epidemic or health conditions will be crucial for future economic trends. Nevertheless, macroeconomists believe that Slovenia will continue to be successful in 2022, as they forecast 4.7% economic growth.
Vida Kocjan is a journalist for Demokracija.