INTRODUCTION

In 2001 the Employment Service of Slovenia (ESS) carried out the tasks laid down by law and, for the year, by the government's Employment Action Programme for 2000 and 2001 and by the Programme of Education and Training for Unemployed People drawn up by the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport and adopted by the Slovenian government.

At the same time the ESS's tasks were set out directly by the Employment and Insurance Against Unemployment Act and its secondary legislation. The ESS also performed a number of other activities laid down by other laws (e.g. Employment of Aliens Act, Training and Education of Disabled Persons Act, etc.) and government documents, in particular the National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis.

In its work the ESS strove to fulfil as many objectives as possible alongside its mission (to help unemployed people to return to work or to re-activate themselves with the help of active employment policy programmes and their own activities). The ESS assisted employers in finding new workers, and provided scholarships to students and put them in touch with future employers.

The activities of the ESS depend on the economic situation affecting the labour market. The link between economic growth and unemployment is such that the number of unemployed people rises sharply during recession; it then takes years of economic growth for a reduction in unemployment to occur. Slovenia had already pulled itself out of years of recession (unemployment peaked in October 1993 at 137,257 unemployed people or 15.3% of Slovenia's economically active population), yet unemployment remained at 120,000 until 1998; after 1998 unemployment began to fall and the number of people in employment began to rise.

In 2001 the basic forecasts for the labour market, according to which economic growth was set to continue, albeit at a slower pace, essentially materialised, although the 2001 forecast made by the Office for Macroeconomic Analysis and Development had to be slightly corrected (downward) during the year, mainly on the account of the additional worsening of the global economy in 2001 and 2002 and data indicating a considerable fall in domestic investment in real terms in the first two quarters of 2001. The outcome of these two changes was a considerable lowering in the 2001 economic growth rate (from the forecast 4.4% to around 3%) and of the forecast for 2002 (from 4.2% to 3.6%).

Nevertheless, in 2001 the area of employment was characterised by continued employment growth and falling unemployment during the year, which could mean that companies adapted to the worsening economic situation mainly by lowering costs (lower investment, lower wage growth) and not by laying off staff or by moving operations abroad. The ESS intervened by implementing effective active employment policies. As a result of developments in the last year, there has been a slowdown in employment growth, i.e. in the reduction of unemployment, when compared to previous years. The unfavourable structure of unemployment must also be taken into account because, as a result, labour supply only partly corresponds to actual demand by employers.

The 2001 unemployment figures for Slovenia show that for the first time in nine years the number of unemployed people fell below 100,000 level (in June 2001 there were 97,824 unemployed people). Towards the end of the year the number of jobless people began to creep up, settling at 104,316 - the lowest figure for a December since December 1991, and slightly lower than at the end of 2000 (the December 2000 figure was 104,583). More encouraging are the figures on the average monthly number of registered unemployed people for 2001 (101,857) - the lowest since 1991.

In 2001 a total of 87,673 people became unemployed, which was 6.5% more than in 2000.

A total of 87,940 people left unemployment, which was a drop of 4.5% in comparison with 2000. Of these, 52,664 people found employment.

The ESS adapted to changes on the labour market by introducing new organisation and methods of work, and by strengthening work with the unemployed and employers. The ESS incorporated into its procedures and processes the positive experiences gained in the Twinning Project, which was aimed at strengthening the role of the ESS on the labour market. The project lasted 14 months and was carried out in collaboration with the British, Irish and Swedish employment services. The ESS is increasingly adapting its activities to the structure of its wide variety of clients. Special attention was afforded to cost control and the cost-effective use of available resources, both financial and human, and to the internal monitoring of its own activities. The aim was to simplify and shorten individual procedures, and to adapt activities to the specific features of regional labour markets.

During the year the ESS, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs, analysed the contents of active employment policy programmes and took an active part in the preparation of guidelines for the implementation of active employment policy programmes for 2002 and 2003.

The ESS also fully implemented all the changes brought about by the new Employment of Aliens Act.

The ESS worked with many partners at the national, regional and local levels on the execution of its tasks and of its mission to provide assistance to unemployed people in finding employment or work; through its international activities it succeeded in preserving its visibility among similar services in Europe.