As Jadranka Dozan/Poslovni Dnevnik according to a Eurostat survey, the Croatian unemployment rate has increased, with the number of registered unemployed people rising from 122,000 to 147,000.
After most European Union (EU) countries resorted to restrictions on work and movement due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic back in March, unemployment and claims for unemployment benefits rose across the bloc in April.
At the same time, various measures and aid to preserve jobs were introduced by national governments to try to alleviate the economic shock caused by the pandemic, and according to Eurostat, the number of unemployed people in the EU eventually increased by 397,000 people in April, to a massive 14.08 million in total.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate thus rose from 6.4 percent in March to 6.6 percent, which is still slightly lower than it was back in April last year (when it stood at 6.8 percent). According to the Eurostat survey, the Croatian unemployment rate has increased from 122,000 to 147,000, reaching a concerning 8.1 percent from 6.8 percent back in March this year.
Six EU member states had higher rates in April - with Spain and Greece leading the way, followed by France, Cyprus and then by two Baltic states.
In contrast, the Czech Republic boasts the lowest unemployment rate, standing at a mere 2.1 percent (with a monthly increase in the number of unemployed of only 7,000), Poland is currently at below three percent, in Germany and the Netherlands it stands at about 3.5 percent, and in five other countries, the unemployment rate remains below five percent.
The circumstances caused by the ongoing pandemic have also led to certain discrepancies with regard to the globally used standard definition of unemployment according to the International Labour Organisation (there are unemployed people who have been actively looking for work for four weeks and can start working in the next two). In addition to government support at the EU level, this has also somewhat mitigated the increase in unemployment.
However, according to Eurostat, unemployment among young people under the age of 25 in the Union rose slightly in April.
There were 2.62 million unemployed people in the EU in March and 2.77 million of them in April, marking an increase from 14.6 to 15.4 percent. For Croatia, the latest data refers to March with 24,000 unemployed people and a youth unemployment rate of 16.2 percent.
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