Slovenia

Slovenia is a country of 2.1 million people with an employment rate above the EU average: 78.3% of people aged 20–64 have a job (EU: 76.1%).

Unemployment is low: 3.9% in 2025, compared with 6.0% in the EU. It went down from 4.0% in 2022 to 3.7% in 2023 and 2024 and rose slightly in 2025. Youth unemployment has gone up – from 10.1% in 2022 to 12.1% among people aged 15–24 in 2025 – but it is still below the EU average of 15.2%.

As an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen you do not need a work permit – you look for a job and work on the same terms as Slovenians. What matters is language: employers usually expect applications in Slovenian, although some accept English, German or Italian.

The clearest official signal of where employers are short of staff is the occupational barometer (Poklicni barometer) of the Employment Service of Slovenia (ESS). For 2026 it lists, among others, these occupations in shortage:

• health and care – doctors, nursing professionals, physiotherapists, personal assistants, social care workers,
• education – primary and secondary school teachers, school counsellors, kindergarten teachers and their assistants,
• engineering – civil, mechanical, electrical and electronics engineers; also veterinarians,
• business and social services – specialists in logistics, human resources, social work, accounting and audit,
• trades, transport and tourism – roofers and carpenters, heavy truck drivers, cooks and waiters, mail sorters and carriers.

In the ESS employer survey from spring 2026 (Napovednik zaposlovanja), 44.9% of employers said they had struggled to find suitable candidates in the previous six months – most often in healthcare and social services, hospitality and education. For the second half of 2026 employers planned to hire mainly workers for simple jobs in manufacturing, sales staff, heavy truck drivers, welders and cleaners.

For graduates, the shortage list points to health, education, engineering and business services. For most of these jobs, Slovenian is essential.

Vacancies in Slovenia are published by the Employment Service of Slovenia (Zavod Republike Slovenije za zaposlovanje, ESS), on company websites and on private job portals. Start here:

• poiščidelo.si – the ESS portal: browse ESS vacancies, create your CV, apply electronically and contact a counsellor (in Slovenian),
• EURES – the EU job portal; EURES advisers and ESS career advisers help you find a job in Slovenia (see Find a job in Slovenia),
• networking, social networks and job fairs – the ESS recommends using them too.

Speculative applications are worth trying: the ESS suggests business registers and databases of Slovenian exporting companies to find employers to write to directly.

For step-by-step advice on job search, CVs and interviews in any EU country, see our How to find a job abroad – 10 practical guides.

A Slovenian application usually contains:

• a cover letter – up to one page, adapted to what the employer expects,
• a CV – clear and to the point, one to two pages; the ESS recommends the Europass CV,
• a suitable photo – EURES advises adding one.

Do not attach your original certificates or references from employers. Write in Slovenian unless the ad says otherwise – some employers also accept English. Before you are hired, you will have a medical examination.

The interview: treat it like a business meeting – prepare well and be on time. The ESS has tips on job-search skills, including CVs, video CVs and a handbook on job interviews (in Slovenian).

Diplomas: if you want to use a qualification from abroad for a job, you can ask for an assessment of education (vrednotenje izobraževanja) at the ENIC-NARIC Centre of the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth – see education assessment and recognition. Regulated professions have their own recognition procedure.

• Minimum wage: €1,481.88 gross a month for full-time work (1 January – 31 December 2026). Employers must pay at least the statutory minimum or the minimum set in the collective agreement (kolektivna pogodba) for their sector.
• Holiday allowance (regres): once a year you get holiday pay of at least the amount of the minimum wage.
• Working time: full-time work usually means 40 hours a week and never less than 36. You have at least 12 hours of rest in every 24 hours and at least 24 hours of weekly rest.
• Overtime: the employer must tell you in writing in advance and pay a supplement. Maximum: 8 hours a week, 20 hours a month and 170 hours a year.
• Holidays: at least 4 weeks of paid leave a year – full-time or part-time – and at least two weeks of it in one block.
• Contract: must be in writing. A probation period can last up to six months. From your first working day the employer registers you for pension and disability, health, parental protection and unemployment insurance.

The most common way to earn money while studying in Slovenia is student work (študentsko delo) – temporary and occasional work for pupils and students.

• How it works: you work for an employer on a referral (napotnica) issued by an authorised student employment service. You cannot do student work if you are employed or registered as unemployed.
• Who: students enrolled at a Slovenian school or university and foreign students living in Slovenia on an international exchange programme.
• Pay: at least €8.98 gross an hour (from 5 February 2026). Pension and disability insurance and a special health insurance contribution are paid on student work.
• Traineeship after graduation (pripravništvo): for your first job in your profession. Paid trainees get at least 70% of the basic wage for the position – and not less than the minimum wage. Unpaid (voluntary) traineeships are only possible in sectors where regulations or collective agreements allow them. At the end there is usually an exam.

Students from outside the EU with a residence permit for study may also work in Slovenia while the permit is valid, under the conditions of Slovenian employment law.

Thinking of studying there first? See Studying in Slovenia – practical information.

1. Registration certificate (potrdilo o prijavi prebivanja): if you want to stay longer than 3 months, apply at the administrative unit (upravna enota) right after arrival or before the 3 months are over. You need an ID card or passport, health insurance, proof of means and proof of your purpose – e.g. an employment contract. The certificate is valid for 5 years (or for your planned stay, if shorter).
2. Register your address: at the administrative unit within 8 days of moving in.
3. EMŠO and tax number: when you register, you get a personal identification number (EMŠO) from the Central Population Register. Your tax number (davčna številka) comes from the Financial Administration (FURS).
4. Health insurance: your employer registers you for compulsory social insurance from your first day of work. You can then order the Slovene Health Insurance Card from the health insurance institute (ZZZS).
5. Tax: income tax (dohodnina) is progressive – 16% on the first €9,721.43 of yearly taxable income, rising to 26%, 33%, 39% and 50% above €82,346.23 (2026). The general allowance of €5,551.93 a year (2026) lowers your taxable income.
6. Bank account: open one early – you need it for your salary and also for student work.

Problems with your rights as an EU worker? Your Europe Advice and SOLVIT help for free.

If you are not an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen, you need a single residence and work permit (enotno dovoljenje za prebivanje in delo). You or your employer apply at a Slovenian embassy or consulate, or at an administrative unit in Slovenia; the Employment Service gives its consent. An employment contract without a single permit is null and void. The permit is issued for the length of your contract, but for no more than 2 years. The main routes:

• Graduates of Slovenian universities (at least a short-cycle or bachelor's degree, completed within the last two years) can get a single permit for 9 months to look for a job or start a business. Apply before your current permit expires.
• EU Blue Card – for university graduates with a contract of at least one year and a salary of at least 1.5 times the average annual gross wage in Slovenia. It is issued for 2 years; the fee is €102 at an embassy or €70 at an administrative unit.
• Employment – a single permit for a specific job with a Slovenian employer.

All the purposes of residence, conditions and steps are explained on the government portal infotujci.si.

• Eurostat – population on 1 January, unemployment by age, employment rate (data for 2025 and 2026),
• EURES – Living and working conditions: Slovenia,
• Employment Service of Slovenia (ESS) – occupational barometer 2026, employment forecast 2026, find a job in Slovenia, single permit, registration of residence,
• gov.si – minimum wage 2026, student work hourly rate 2026, registration certificate for EU citizens, education assessment and recognition,
• Official Gazette (Uradni list) – income tax scale and allowances 2026,
• eUprava – registering temporary residence,
• ZZZS – Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia,
• infotujci.si – job search after studies,
• EU Immigration Portal – EU Blue Card in Slovenia, students in Slovenia,
• Your Europe – working abroad.

Updated: October 2026.