Ljubljana - Employers advertised just over 13,600 job vacancies in the third quarter of the year, which is 2,500 more than in the second quarter, the Statistic Office said on Thursday. The number of occupied posts was up by more than 3,000. Meanwhile, the Employment Service has so far paid out EUR 312.4 million to help avoid layoffs.

The Statistics Office collected data on job vacancies at the end of August, just between both waves of the coronavirus crisis, when business activity picked up again.

Compared to the previous quarter, demand for new labour force was up in most activities, and was the highest in construction and manufacturing (almost 2,900 job vacancies in each), followed by retail, where almost 1,800 job vacancies were advertised.

Seasonally adjusted data show that there were little more than 766,000 occupied posts in Slovenia in the third quarter or 3,000 more than in the second.

In the second quarter, when some companies had to close their doors or reduce their activities for almost two months, the number of occupied posts dropped by almost 30,000.

However, thanks to the state subsidies for shorter working time, furlough and compensation for quarantine, 300,000 jobs were preserved, according to Labour Minister Janez Cigler Kralj.

In the third quarter, the number of occupied posts started rising again, except in manufacturing, financial and insurance services, and in other business activities.

In year-on-year comparison, the number of jobs dropped by almost 8,000.