Economic growth remained high in 2022, in line with Banka Slovenije’s expectations

After the strong post-pandemic recovery in 2021, when the economy expanded by fully 8.2%, economic growth remained high in 2022, at 5.4%. These developments were expected by Banka Slovenije, particularly in light of the strong support from monetary and fiscal policy. An outcome to the year of this kind also gives encouraging signals for this year, when economic growth will nevertheless slow. The high economic growth has also been reflected on the labour market, where employment is hitting record highs. It also appears as though inflation has peaked, and will slow significantly over the coming quarters.

Annual GDP growth stood at a high 5.4% last year, in line with Banka Slovenije’s expectations. Following the exceptionally favourable developments in the first half of the year, economic activity began to slow in the third quarter, but growth then picked up again in the final quarter, when GDP was up 0.8% on the third quarter. This highly favourable economic picture has also been reflected on the labour market, where employment is still rising, and firms’ employment expectations remain positive.  

Economic growth was high in all segments. Final consumption grew by 6.6% last year, and gross investment by 12.4%. Last year saw great uncertainty in the international environment in connection with the Russian military aggression, the consequences of which were reflected on the energy markets in particular. Despite these risks, imports and exports remained relatively high in annual terms, while the balance of trade slowed GDP growth by 2.1 percentage points.

These developments are also encouraging for this year, with the majority of institutions finding that households and businesses alike are showing great resilience. This will help economic growth to remain positive this year.