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The Committee notes with interest the Government's report for the period ending June 1992 containing most useful information on trends in employment and unemployment, the principles of the employment policy and measures to combat unemployment. It would be grateful if in its next report the Government would again provide information which is as detailed as possible in answer to the questions in the report form, with particular reference to the following points.

1. The Government indicates that the employment situation started to deteriorate in 1988 and has continued to do so in the period covered by the report. Total employment dropped by 8 per cent between 1988 and 1992 and unemployment rose rapidly. The unemployment rate, which was less than 2 per cent in 1988, reached 5.9 per cent at the end of 1990, 10.1 per cent at the end of 1991 and 11 per cent by June 1992. The Committee notes that unemployment particularly affects the under-26 age group which at that date showed an unemployment rate of over 20 per cent, and skilled workers who accounted for 62.7 per cent of all unemployed persons. Another feature of unemployment which is becoming a source of concern is its length: at 30 June 1992, more than 50 per cent of the unemployed had been without a job for over a year. The Government also indicates that the total active population has dropped over the period.

2. The Committee appreciates the Government's efforts to provide statistical information which is as detailed as possible. It notes in this connection that the methods for collecting and analysing employment and unemployment data are being changed to improve information on levels of activity. The Committee asks the Government to indicate in its next report any progress made in this area.

3. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, the deterioration in the employment situation is linked to the changing economic and social conditions brought about by the transition to a market economy in an unfavourable economic context characterized by low financial resources, modest investment activity and numerous company bankruptcies. The Government states that in order to cope with the situation, and particularly precarious employment and growing unemployment, in early 1991 it adopted a social programme to stimulate the creation of new jobs by direct intervention in the labour market. In this connection the report refers to the 1991 Act on Employment and Insurance in Case of Unemployment, aimed at ensuring social protection for the unemployed and providing for active employment policy measures. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the application of the provisions of the above Act in relation to the provisions of the Convention. It also asks the Government to provide additional information on other aspects of the employment policy which are likely to have an impact on employment, such as measures in the areas of investment policy, budgetary and monetary policy, prices, incomes and wages policies. The Government is asked to state how it ensures that the objective of full, productive and freely chosen employment is taken fully into account in the adoption of any decisions on these matters, in accordance with Articles 1, paragraph 3, and 2 of the Convention.

4. The Committee notes with interest the information on measures to combat unemployment by helping employers to create and maintain productive jobs and helping individuals to adapt, particularly through training, to new labour market conditions. The Committee asks the Government to continue to supply information on jobs created by means of the programme to subsidize employers who recruit for an indefinite period, the results obtained by the programme for the promotion of self-employment and the public works programmes. Please also state to what extent the programme to co-finance trainee income has led to lasting employment for the persons concerned. The Committee notes with interest that a special programme for the employment of the disabled was among the labour market policy measures. In this connection, it draws the Government's attention to the relevant provisions of other international labour conventions to which Slovenia is also a party such as the Human Resources Development Convention (No. 142), 1975, and the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention (No. 159), 1983.

5. In its report the Government refers to the provisions of the Act on Employment and Insurance in the Case of Unemployment, which refer to the representation of employers' and workers' organizations. The Committee would be grateful if in its next report the Government would supply more detailed information on the methods used to ensure that, in conformity with Article 3 of the Convention, representatives of all persons affected by the measures to be taken are consulted concerning employment policies "with a view to taking fully into account their experience and views and securing their full cooperation in formulating and enlisting support for such policies". The Committee recalls that such consultations should cover all aspects of economic policy that have an impact on employment, and emphasizes the particular importance of giving full effect to this essential provision of the Convention, particularly at a time of far-reaching changes in labour market conditions.