Compared to May 2019, the figure was meanwhile up by 18,403 or 25.6% in the previous month, the Employment Service reported on Wednesday.

The number of persons who registered with the Employment Service in May was almost halved (-45%) compared to April, standing at 7,928, which was, however, 75.6% more than in May 2019.

Among them, those who saw their fixed-term contracts expire represented the largest number (3,915), followed by permanently redundant workers (2,585) and first job-seekers (389).

Out of the 6,161 persons who were struck out of the Employment Service's records in May, 5,031 found a job or got self-employed, which is 120% more than in April and 6.5% more year-on-year.

The Employment Service also registered an increase in demand for workers, as 67.9% more vacancies were advertised in May compared to April, while their number was still down 45.2% year-on-year.

Region-wise, the biggest increase in unemployment was recorded in the northern Gorenjska region, covered by the service's Kranj unit, which stood at 5.1% at the monthly and +50.1% at the annual level.

This is mostly due to mass lay-offs in the hospitality industry, followed by manufacturing and commerce, in particular by small employers, but the situation has been improving lately, as many of the employers in the sector are rehiring.

The Ministry of Labour commented on the figures for the STA by saying that they were somewhat more encouraging and inspired optimism, while adding that "we should remain objective despite the positive trend."

"Certain industries will need more time to recover," the ministry said, noting that employers who were still facing with a drop in turnover and work could use subsidies for shortened working time as part of the latest anti-epidemic package.

It also said they could use subsidies for furloughed workers by the end of this month, noting that the Employment Service had received almost 47,000 applications for almost 276,000 by the end of last week.

The Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy meanwhile announced a financial support programme for workers laid off during the epidemic, worth EUR 4.6 million, which is fully covered by the European Social Fund.

As part of the programme, implemented by the Employment Service, temporary compensation, career consultancy and inclusion in the existing active employment policies will be provided for around 2,500 unemployed persons.