More than a half (56%) of Slovenian employers plan to raise wages in the first half of the year and 46% expect to expand their workforce, according to the most recent survey by the employment company Manpower.

One out of three of those planning to increase wages expect to raise them by up to 5%, just over a fifth reckon they will increase them by between 6% and 10%, and a quarter are planning to raise benefits or bonuses.

None of the 300 surveyed companies of various sizes and working in different industries intend to cut wages.

The survey reveals that 41% of the companies involved raised pay in the second half of 2023 even though only 26% expected to do so in the mid-2023 survey.

The most substantial increase in pay is expected in science and education, where all the surveyed employers reported having raised wages in the second half of last year.

The share for transport and logistics and automotive industries was between 55% and 65%, and for IT, retail and wholesale, manufacturing, health and pharmaceuticals, tourism and hospitality, and engineering industries between 40% and 50%.

Almost 40% of employers reported that changes in pay and benefits had been driven by the wish to retain current employees.

The average employee turnover rate was 10% in 2023, compared to 12.4% the year before. The main reason for staff leaving was pay.

The net hiring forecast for the first half of this year, calculated as the difference between the percentage of employers intending to hire and the percentage intending to lay off, is +42.41%, considerably lower than last year (+54.49%).

The most optimistic about hiring are employers in the transport and logistics, healthcare and pharma, and banking, finance and insurance sectors, where more than 70% plan to increase their headcount.

Industries where lay-offs are not ruled out for the first half of 2024 are IT, retail and wholesale trade, manufacturing, automotive and construction.

Almost 4% of the surveyed companies expect to cut their workforce.

"The survey forecasts for the first half of 2024 point to a slight cooling of the economy, but we still see positive trends in the Slovenian labour market. Talent retention and acquisition strategies remain key to success in this highly competitive environment," commented Tamas Feher, Manpower's CEO for Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia.