GZS analyst Bojan Ivanc told the press in Ljubljana on Monday that companies in Slovenia had generated EUR 91bn in revenue, EUR 21bn in value added and EUR 37.5bn in exports last year. They employed 481,000 people or 57% of active population, according to Ivanc.

Last year, hiring by the private sector was the most intensive in a decade, while exports grew by a record 17% year-on-year and profits were up 14%.

Ivanc moreover said that total investments increased by about EUR 700m compared to 2016. But this was still about half a billion below a long-time average.

The GZS forecasts a 7% economic growth for Slovenia, 10% growth in investments and a 3% increase in value added per employee. The latter reached EUR 43,000 last year, which still leaves a lot of room for improvement, according to GZS president Boštjan Gorjup.

The chamber put together the key recommendations in a programme headlined Preserve Growth, underlining above all that structural reform must be launched while the economy is still doing well.

GZS director general Sonja Šmuc said that the programme encompassed measures from four fields: human resources and hiring, structural reform, the fiscal system and business environment.

The GZS calls for a more efficient employment policy, encouragement of work activity among the elderly and a more effective education system.

The chamber also urges reforms of the pension system and health care, and stresses the need for a more efficient public sector and lower taxes on labour.

Šmuc added that a good business environment could only be built on internationalisation and digitisation, by cutting red tape, improving infrastructure and through R&D.