2005 Annual Report

Work with the unemployed, employers and employment agency services

ESS - intermediary between supply and demand in the labour market 

The basic activity of the Service is as an employment agency, including information, employment counselling and referral or mediation to vacancies. In 2005 the Service helped 53,857 unemployed people find work.

Services for unemployed people

  • Informing (about the labour market - employment possibilities, occupations, rights arising from unemployment insurance, employment measures and projects, rights and obligations etc.)
  • Placement
  • Counselling (individual, group sessions):
    • employment advising
    • careers counselling
    • rehabilitation counselling
  • Participation in active employment policy measures
  • Asserting rights stemming from unemployment insurance

The web site of the ESS, at <http://www.ess.gov.si>, with an abundance of information on the labour market, occupations, various measures to improve employment opportunities and much more, is intended for the unemployed and also those who would like to change their career, as well as young people in education, employers and others. In 2005 the ESS website received a daily average of 48,698 page hits, an increase of 49.5% on 2004. Total page views for the Service's website in 2005 exceeded 17 million.

The Service has implemented consistently and on time the Act on the Access to Information of Public Character. 34 written applications as defined by the Act on the Access to Information of Public Character were considered in 2005; in addition, we provided daily direct communication through a special web address to which anyone interested could send questions, initiatives etc. We received and responded to 5,580 questions at this address in 2005 (three times more than in 2004).

The Service has been involved in the EURES network since Slovenia joined the EU. This is a network of public employment services in the EU, through which the free flow of workers is being implemented. It is intended for job seekers and employers as well as others interested in any way in international mobility. EURES advisors mainly offer job seekers information and advice on employment opportunities in EU countries, while they offer employers specific help in finding candidates for employment from European Union countries, particularly from the free flow of labour area. Key to this is the link to EURES advisors from other member states. The ESS in 2005 had 7 trained EURES advisors, 3 of whom began working in the autumn. In 2005, Slovenian EURES advisors provided 13,691 information and advice sessions for 6,605 job seekers, 3,282 employers and 3,804 other clients. The contents were mainly general information relating to international mobility, particularly on the options for working and living in individual EU countries and the possibility of employing workers from other members in Slovenia, as well as specific information in connection with providing workers. 951 job seekers from other EU members were referred to job vacancies with employers from Slovenia.

Registered labour demand by month, 2005 

Employers registered 202,904 vacancies for workers and apprentices in 2005. Demand for workers increased by 20.3% compared to 2004, and demand for apprentices grew by 4.7%. As in previous years, the proportion of fixed-term vacancies was high, rising by 1.4 percentage points from 2004 to 75.1%. Interestingly, employers are increasingly offering fixed-term contracts even in the most challenging professions (under the Standard Classification of Occupations, the groups Experts and Technicians and other professionals), which was previously unknown. This is primarily a consequence of increased supply of suitable labour. Demand for workers with further and higher professional education continued to outpace supply in 2005, while demand for unqualified workers was insufficient given the number of unemployed workers available.

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