The November unemployment rate will be published by the Service in January. In September, the latest data available, the unemployment rate reached 8.7 percent, with 80,990 unemployed, which was the lowest level since March 2009.

Slovenia, which narrowly avoided an international bailout for its banks in 2013, returned to growth a year later and has since managed to sharply reduce unemployment, mainly due to increased exports.

The Service said the number of newly registered unemployed people in November fell by 33.3 percent from the previous month, adding that most job openings took place in manufacturing, followed by jobs for truck drivers and waiters.

A survey among Slovenian companies showed last week that employment in the country is expected to rise by 2.6 percent in the first half of 2018, with 43 percent of firms already experiencing difficulties when looking for qualified candidates for job openings.