Ljubljana, 16 December (STA) - In 2023, the average monthly labour cost per employee or self-employed individual in Slovenia amounted to EUR 2,854, representing a year-on-year increase of 9.8%. Overall employment grew by 1.6%, while total labour costs rose by 11.7%, the Statistics Office said. The number of companies in Slovenia grew by 3.4% in annual comparison.
The number of employed persons increased by 10,107, or 1.2%, compared to the previous year, following a 2.6% rise in 2022. The most significant employment growth occurred in the manufacturing of other vessels and vehicles (+18.3%), followed by rental and leasing activities (+12.9%), computer programming and other IT-related activities (+9.2%), and travel agencies, tour operators, and related activities (+8.3%).
On the other hand, the steepest declines in employment were seen in the manufacturing of leather and leather-related products (-10.2%), manufacturing of computers, electronics, and optical products (-6.0%), and the manufacturing of paper and paper products (-5.0%).
Average labour costs increased in all sectors except one. The most notable rises were in beverage production and textile manufacturing, both up by 16.8%. Travel agencies, tour operators, and related activities saw an increase of 16.4%, while air transport experienced a 14.7% rise. The only sector where labour costs decreased was the manufacturing of computers, electronics, and optical products, which fell by 3.1%.
The number of self-employed individuals grew by 7,641, or 3.6%, in 2023, compared to a 4.3% increase in 2022. The most significant growth was recorded in other miscellaneous business activities, where numbers rose by an average of 9%. There was also notable growth in professional, scientific, and technical activities (+8.5%). Conversely, a 1% decline was observed in agriculture, forestry, and fishing.
Most self-employed individuals do not receive wages but instead generate income through their labour and capital investments, the Statistics Office noted on Friday.
In 2023, the self-employed generated EUR 4.5 billion in various forms of income, up by 2.4% from the previous year. Their labour costs were estimated at EUR 4.9 billion, marking a 17.9% year-on-year increase.
Education level emerged as the most significant factor influencing variations in labour costs, alongside gender, age, and sector. In 2023, labour costs for individuals with primary education amounted to 55% of the costs for those with higher education. For those with secondary education, the figure was 66.9%.
Labour costs for women were, on average, 4.6% lower than for men. However, this gender gap narrowed by 0.7 percentage points compared to 2022.
On Monday, the Statistics Office also said that there were 228,944 companies active in Slovenia last year, up 3.4% from 2022, which altogether employed 1,006,687 people and generated EUR 167.6 billion in revenue. The number of their employees and the self-employed rose by 1.8% while total revenue increased by 1.5%.
