Out of the 621 employers included in the survey, 15% plan to increase the number of their staff, 2% plan to decrease it and 79% expect no changes.

According to the Manpower international survey, Slovenian and Romanian employers expect the most intensive hiring in the regions of Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the first quarter of 2018, from where 25 countries were included in the survey.

Only employers from six out of 43 other countries in the world that were included in the survey expect more intensive hiring than the Slovenian.

"It is also interesting that all countries in the world that are involved in the survey plan to increase hiring in this quarter," Manpower Slovenija head Robert Vovk told the STA.

In Slovenia, employment growth is expected in all ten industries. The most optimistic are employers in manufacturing, where the outlook is at +31%. The outlook is also very optimistic for the hospitality sector, and transport, logistics and communication, where it reached +19%, a record high, Vovk said.

The net employment outlook for construction stands at 17%, for wholesale and retail at +15%, and for financial and business services, insurance and real estate at +13%.

More cautious are employers in agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing, and in electricity, water and gas supply. There, the outlook for hiring is at +7%.

Compared to the final quarter of 2017, the employment outlook improved in eight out of ten industries, most notably in manufacturing (by seven percentage points), while it was up in five industries in year-on-year comparison, most notably in manufacturing.

Large companies plan the most intensive hiring, with their employment outlook reaching +39%. One in two large companies will hire, Vovk said.

Medium-sized companies plan 16% more hiring, small companies 15%, and micro companies 8%.