That year, before the crisis hit the construction and metal industries, which hire the highest number of foreigners, nearly 89,000 work permits were issued, as against fewer than 18,000 in 2014, the Labour and Welfare Ministry said on Tuesday.
Most foreign workers come from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, but also Croatia, which joined the European Union in 2013, and its citizens need a work permit like non-EU countries.
Labour Minister Anja Kopac Mrak recently announced that Slovenia would consider the possibility of opening its labour market to Croats as of June, given that unemployment in Slovenia mildly declined in recent months. Unemployment was the reason Slovenia requested restrictions on the hiring of Croats when Croatia entered the EU.
In 2004, Slovenia imposed quotas for the issue of work permits, tightening restrictions in 2011 as unemployment rose.
The Slovenian government has launched the preparation of a new law on the hiring of foreigners to facilitate the obtaining of work and sojourn permits. It has also announced stricter measures against employers with undeclared workers to whom they owe benefits and in some cases, salaries.
Slovenian unions have also pushed for better protection of foreigners.