Almost two-thirds of Slovenian employers plan to raise wages in the first half of the year, shows a Manpower survey on trends in salaries and employee benefits. Over a third of respondents plan pay hikes in the 6-10% range.

The increase comes after more than four in five companies already raised wages in the first half of 2022 and is driven by the desire to counter the impact of inflation, retain and attract talent, and to accommodate for the higher minimum wage.

Companies also want to reduce churn. Last year the average churn rate exceeded 12% and more than half of all employers said the rate increased compared to the year before.

Most said this was due to better pay at rival companies (55%), followed by unfavourable working conditions, incompatibility with superiors, layoffs, and lack of professional growth and promotion opportunities.

Tourism and hospitality sectors had the highest employee turnover at 30%, while construction had the lowest rate, at 7.6%.

Slovenia's job market has been tight for several years but companies remain keen to expand their payrolls.

The net employment outlook - the difference between the percentage of employers planing to hire and those planning layoffs - for the first half of 2023 is at almost +55.

More than half the surveyed companies said they plan to hire new employees and only 2.5% said there will be more layoffs than new hirings.

Indeed, manufacturing is the only sector planning layoffs in the first half of the year, with 5.11% of the employers making such projections.