After strong GDP (gross domestic product) growth in 2014, only real exports of merchandise declined in January 2015. They returned to pre-December levels after recording strong growth in December. According to the Institute for Macroeconomic Analysis and Development, manufacturing has been getting stronger, and Slovenia also saw a rise in activity in the construction sector this year – after a dip in the second half of 2014. Moreover, revenue in retail and wholesale businesses as well as in the service sector has increased.

The end of rising unemployment
Conditions in the job market have improved somewhat at the beginning of 2015. The increase in the number of persons employed has slightly slowed down over the past few months, but the country's unemployment rate is on the decline, especially due to the fact that companies are now hiring more people and fewer individuals have registered with the state employment service (Zavod RS za zaposlovanje). At the end of March, 118,099 persons were registered as unemployed, which is a 6.8 percent drop year-on-year.

In the banking sector, IMAD sees a continuation of last year's positive trends. The decline in banks' liabilities abroad keeps slowing, banks continue to make debt repayments to the ECB, while household and government deposits are on the rise. The banks' lending activity continues to contract, but at a slower rate than in 2014. The volume of loans to domestic non-banking sectors is 70 million euros higher, but this is mainly due to the appreciation of the Swiss franc against the euro.

L. D. ; translated by D. V.