The number of employed persons has reached 1.47 million.
According to data from the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute (HZMO), the total number of insured persons in April increased by 1.8 percent compared to the same month last year, reaching 1.47 million, which has continued the positive trend of year-on-year growth which started in March 2015, according to analysts from the Raiffeisenbank Austria (RBA). Compared to April last year, the number of insured persons increased by nearly 26,000, reports HRT on May 12, 2017.
The total number of insured persons in April, compared to March, was higher by almost 24,000 or 1.6 percent, which continued the trend of monthly increases for the third month in a row.
The RBA analysts point out that similar employment results on the monthly level were also shown earlier by the data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, according to which the number of employed persons increased by more than 4,000 in March, or 0.3 percent on a monthly basis. “Although significant methodological differences do not allow direct comparison of data from the two sources, they indicate harmonized dynamics of trends in employment during the year. The April data confirm usual seasonal trends which are characterized by more dynamic employment driven by the needs of the tourism industry,” the RBA stated.
According to the National Classification of Professions, the largest contribution to the monthly and annual growth in the number of insured persons in April came from the activities connected with providing accommodation and catering services. In April, the number of insured persons in the sector grew by 12,733 or 15.3 percent, as compared to March. Also, this sector recorded a significant increase in the number of insured persons year-on-year, by more than 6,000, or 6.9 percent.
“Thanks to the strong positive effect of the seasonal employment segment, primarily driven by the increasing demand for employees in the tourist industry, we expect the improvement in the employment indicators in the coming months as well. However, it should be pointed out that the main indicator in the labour market at the EU level is the employment rate of the population at the age from 20 to 64, which is defined as the proportion of employed persons in the total population. According to the latest available Eurostat data for 2016, with a 61.4 percent employment rate Croatia is at the very bottom of EU countries, immediately behind Greece, which has the lowest employment rate,” conclude the RBA analysts.
