By: Vida Kocjan
The rise in the cost of living, inflation, is still hovering around 10 percent. In October, it was 9.9 percent. Inflation is even significantly higher if we look at the growth in prices of food and soft drinks. Prices are as much as 17.2 percent higher than a year ago. This is also the most in the last two decades.
The interim growth in the prices of energy products is 18.7 percent. The prices of solid fuels increased by more than 30 percent in the last two months alone. Interim by almost 125 percent. The average gross salary is lower in real terms with high inflation.
The number of registered unemployed is also increasing. Revenue in the store is decreasing. Catering revenue is also decreasing, the number of overnight stays by local and foreign guests has decreased in the last period. Revenue in various services, including consulting, is also decreasing.
At the moment, we are saved by the exchange of goods with the countries of the European Union, although this is not at a level that would make us happy. Despite significant monthly fluctuations, real exports of goods to EU countries increased by only 2.6 percent in the last quarter, while real imports remained at the same level. At the same time, the mood in export-oriented activities has worsened in recent months, and there was a marked deterioration in October as well.
Great uncertainty prevails in the international environment, export orders fell further in October and are at their lowest level since the end of 2020. In the economy, they expect their competitive position on the EU and non-EU markets to worsen, and the volume of new orders to decrease even further.
These are the findings of the Office for Macroeconomic Analysis and Development, which apparently do not reach the eyes and ears of government “economists”, drunk on various victories.
Reporting on high inflation is not a topic that the transition left-leaning media pays much attention to. It has not been heard of for a long time that inflation in Slovenia is higher than inflation in the Eurozone. Since this is so and since we live in strange times, it is right to think about it and act accordingly.