* Highest jobless rate since March 2005
* Further increase expected
* Rising pressure on state finances
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BRATISLAVA, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Slovakia's unemployment rate rose in July to the highest level in more than four years as the economic recession continued and the euro zone newcomer expected a further worsening in the jobs market in the near future. The National Labour Office said on Tuesday the official jobless rate rose to 12.07 percent in July, the highest reading since March 2005, and up from 11.81 percent seen in June. The figure was broadly in line with expectations. [ID:nBSD000220]
Slovakia is heading for its first full-year recession this year, with the government predicting the export-reliant economy to shrink by 6.2 percent, after 6.4 percent growth in 2008.
The labour office said July statistics were influenced by inflow of people laid off due to the economic crisis, the return of Slovaks previously working in other European Union countries and by school-leavers entering the jobs market.
"For the future period, we expect further risks stemming from the economic crisis and (an) inflow of people finishing school," Vladimir Hasko, the head of the office's statistics department, told a news conference.
"Therefore, we expect a further increase in the registered unemployment rate," Hasko said, without elaborating on the time frame.
Rising unemployment is increasing the pressure on state finances already strained by falling budget revenues caused by the economic downturn.
The government of Prime Minister Robert Fico, which will face a general election in one year, has focused its anti-crisis measures mainly on preserving jobs with steps like temporary cuts in payroll taxes for suffering businesses.
The cabinet now sees the overall fiscal gap at around six percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year, three times as much as the original target of 2.1 percent and twice as big as the EU's deficit limit.
Despite rising unemployment, the jobless rate is still around half of levels seen seven years ago when ex-communist Slovakia was undergoing transformation from a central European laggard to one of the fastest growing EU members, a period that peaked with a 10.4 percent GDP growth in 2007. (Reporting by Peter Laca; editing by Chris Pizzey)