Demand for foreign workforce rises in Slovenia
Slovenia is seeing high demand for foreign workforce, with the Employment Service receiving 54,000 work permit applications between January and September 2022.
According to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), the number of applications is expected to reach a record-high of 63,000 by year-end.
Employment Service director Marko Bošnjak attributed the growth in applications to significant structural discrepancies in the labor market. There is a big demand for the workforce, while supply is low due to record-low unemployment.
As of end-September, STA said that over 35,700 applications were already approved. This is 8.4% more than in the same period last year.
The Employment Service expects high demand for the foreign workforce to persist in the future, given Slovenia’s demography. Data from the Statistics Office for July 2022 showed that foreigners accounted for 13.3% of Slovenia’s workforce.
