ZAGREB, 15 Oct 2021 - In the second quarter of this year, 1.69 million people in Croatia were gainfully employed, while 146,000 were unemployed, and the survey unemployment rate was 8%, according to a labor force survey carried out by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS).

The survey found that of the 146,000 unemployed people, 89,000 or 61.3% were registered with the employment bureau and the remaining 38,7% were not.

At the same time, of 138,000 job seekers registered with the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ), 48,000, or 35.1% did not meet the international employment criteria.

The survey showed that in the second quarter of this year 3.5 million Croatians were of working age (aged 15 and over), of whom 1.69 million were in work, 146,000 were out of work and 1.7 million were inactive.

Among the inactive population, 66,000 said they wanted to work but were not looking for a job, while 1.2 million did not want to work because of old age, poor health, education, and so on. There were an estimated 8,000 people who were looking for a job but could not accept it in the next two weeks, and about 28,000 who were not looking for work and could not accept it in the next two weeks. The "Others" category included 399,000 inactive persons aged 75 and over who, under the methodology, are not asked about details of their inactivity.

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ZAGREB, 23 Aug 2021 - In Croatia, the list of top ten cities in terms of the number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants include Varaždin, Čakovec, Zabok, Prelog, Sveta Nedelja, Koprivnica, Krk, Poreč, Dubrovnik, and Vinkovci, according to the data released by the national statistical office (DZS) on Monday.

The information about this ranking of the top 10 cities was released by the local authorities in Vinkovci that boasted that this eastern Croatian city made the top ten in terms of the number of workers per 1,000 inhabitants.

The list is topped by the northern city of Varaždin (630 employees per 1,000) and is followed by another two northern cities, Čakovec  (571) and Zabok (525).

Vinkovci has 401 employees per 1,000 residents, which ranks it in 10th place.

The ranking does not include the capital city of Zagreb or any of the other three biggest cities: Split, Osijek, and Rijeka.

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ZAGREB, 20 Aug, 2021 - For this June, the average monthly net earnings per person in paid employment in legal entities in Croatia amounted to HRK 7,175, nominally higher by 5.9% and really by 3.8% as compared to the same month last year, according to the latest data provided by the national statistical office (DZS).

As compared to May 2021, both the nominal and the increase was one percent.

The highest average monthly net pay per person in paid employment in legal entities for June 2021 were earned in Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (HRK 15,823), while the lowest were earned in Manufacture of wearing apparel (HRK 4,409).

Median net take-home pay for June 2021 amounted to HRK 6,023, and the median gross salary was HRK 7,813.

(€ 1 = HRK 7.482172)

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August the 4th, 2021 - The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has threatened jobs like never before, with countries which rely very heavily on tourism suffering unimaginable uncertainty. Croatia is one of them. Things are slowly recovering however, and the Zagreb County employment rate has risen.

Economic issues in Croatia weren't ''born'' when the pandemic struck the globe, but they were certainly made exponentially worse with intermittent lockdowns and issues with transport, travel and tourism. While the Zagreb County employment rate perhaps isn't the one you'd expect to see much growth in comparison to the coast, things are looking up.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, with the highest total revenue of 6.1 billion kuna in 2020 and the largest number of employees - 2,377, Lidl Hrvatska (Croatia) from Velika Gorica neat the City of Zagreb maintained its dominant role among leading companies based in Zagreb County.

The largest exporter was the company Hospira Zagreb from Prigorje Brdovecki (809.5 million kuna), according to Fina, which, for the pandemic-dominated year of 2020, shows a good picture of Zagreb County's economy in which 9258 enterprises had their headquarters last year. With its 63,044 employees, there is a 3.3 percent increase in Zagreb County employment levels.

The average monthly net salary for Zagreb County employees amounted to 6,144 kuna, which is 2.7 percent higher than it was back in 2019 and 2.9 percent higher than the average for that category at the Croatian level.

According to the processed AFS for 2020, companies operating in this continental Croatian county achieved 56.9 billion kuna of total revenues (0.1 percent more than back in 2019).

Compared to other counties, Zagreb County is highly ranked according to a number of indicators: it is in fifth place according to the number of companies headquartered there, third according to the number of employees, second according to total revenues and realised net profit, and number one according to the indicator of labour productivity measured by net profit and the number of employees, making it the country's best in that regard at the moment.

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ZAGREB, 21 July, 2021 - The volume of construction work carried out in Croatia in May 2021 rose 15.9% compared with May 2020, and it fell by 0.1% compared with April 2021, according to data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) on Wednesday.

May was the 12th consecutive month to see the rise in the volume of construction work on an annual level.

Year on year, the volume of construction work to buildings increased by 18% and the volume of construction work to other structures grew by 13%. Month on month, the volume of construction work to buildings fell by 0.3%, while the volume of construction work to other structures decreased by 0.9%.

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ZAGREB, 8 July 2021 - Labour and Pension System Minister Josip Aladrović said on Thursday that Croatia had 55,000 employed persons more than last year and 4,000 more than in 2019, which was the year with the highest total number of employed persons since 2008, that is the last economic crisis.

We have slightly over 120,000 unemployed persons on the labor market, the minister said in parliament presenting a legal solution according to which family pension beneficiaries would have the right to work part-time and receive the full amount of pension.

Citing data from the Croatian Pension Insurance Insitute (HZMO), he said that there had been 216,000 family pension beneficiaries in June, mostly widows and widowers, and their pension had been HRK 2,094 on average, which is lower than the average pension.

At the risk of poverty

In 27% of cases, the surviving spouse is at risk of poverty, the minister stressed, explaining that amendments to the Pension Insurance Act seek to reduce the risk of poverty for pensioners, as well as fill gaps in the labor market.

Nada Murganić (HDZ) welcomed the amendments, recalling that family pension beneficiaries often left their jobs to take care of family members or look after the children. This will enable them to return to the world of work, she said.

Although MPs support the government's proposal that family pension beneficiaries be allowed to work and receive a pension, some of them fear that this could harm the unemployed, and some warn that this will not bring much momentum to the labor market.

Labour shortage, especially shortage of skilled workers, is one of the challenges Croatia is facing, and one of the ways to overcome it is to activate everyone who wants to work and has a specific knowledge, the minister told Anita Pocrnić Radošević (HDZ).

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June the 26th, 2021 - The ongoing coronavirus pandemic hasn't aided Croatia's long-standing demographic crisis, and now facility openings are in question this summer as the Croatian tourism sector lacks as many as 5000 employees despite the easing of epidemiological measures.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, the Croatian tourism sector and its many companies are facing a huge problem of a lack of workers, which is why it is even questionable as to whether some facilities will bother to open their doors this season, primarily hotels. Every large tourist company is currently short of several hundred workers, as was unofficially learned.

As many claim that there ''are no people to be had'' here at home on the Croatian market, because a good part of the seasonal workers have fled to secure employment in other sectors due to the pandemic, all hopes are unfortunately now being placed on foreign labour, primarily workers from outside the European Union, ie from neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

This is where a new problem arises, because the procedure for obtaining a work permit for third country nationals sometimes takes up to a month, and the needs of the Croatian tourism sector are now measured in mere hours. As has been found out from the Ministry of the Interior, there are currently almost 5,000 applications for work permits being processed, meaning that very many jobs are vacant and urgently waiting for workers.

"There was a situation for which no one can be blamed, until recently employers couldn't know how many staff they'd need, what the situation would be with the pandemic and measures, and the workers had to cope with all that. Procedures that normally take several months now need to be resolved much, much more rapidly.

The lack of workers is currently the biggest challenge facing the Croatian tourism sector, and we're trying to find the best solutions together with the institutions in order to speed up those procedures, ie loosen all instruments for hiring foreign workers, to open all facilities for which we have demand,'' said Veljko Ostojic.

Ideally, the procedure from receiving the application to obtaining the actual work permit should take a maximum of seven days in the modern day. However, although the obligation of the labour market test has been abolished for the Croatian tourism sector, which helps mildly, the system hasn't yet been prepared or equipped to perform all the prescribed moves in such a short time.

As is known, the Law on Foreigners, an update to which entered into force on the 1st of January, abolished quotas for the employment of foreigners (third-country nationals from outside the EU), but employers are still obliged to ask whether there are such workers already present here on the Croatian market before hiring third-country nationals.

Therefore, the employer first conducts a labour market test themselves, and the Croatian Employment Service (CES) is obliged to submit the results of the labour market test to the employer within fifteen days at the latest. If it is determined that there is no Croatian worker who meets the employer's requirements for employment, the employer may apply for a residence and work permit for a specific third-country national.

Fortunately, tourism is recognised as an activity with deficient occupations, and there is no obligation to carry out a labour market test. Employers have been given an advantage here, but this still isn't enough, because there are still procedures to go through.

As explained by the Ministry of the Interior, after submitting an application for a residence and work permit, they determine whether the third-country national poses a threat to public order, national security and public health, or whether the third-country national is banned from entering and staying in Croatia or the Schengen area (of which Croatia isn't a part), as well as whether or not they have submitted the prescribed evidence that they haven't been convicted of criminal offenses in their home country.

The deadline for deciding on the application for a residence and work permit is fifteen days from the day of submitting the proper application, during which the CES determines whether or not all of the conditions for giving a positive opinion for employment have been met, and the Ministry of the Interior determines whether the conditions for issuing a residence/work permit have been met.

As has been learned from the Ministry of the Interior, by June the 21st, they had issued 7003 residence and work permits for the tourism and catering business. Of these, 1232 licenses were issued for new employment, 980 were extensions and 4791 were for seasonal employment in the Croatian tourism sector.

At the same time, by the 21st of June 2021, 11,740 applications for residence and work permits for tourism and catering activities had been submitted, which also included applications for new employment, extensions and seasonal employment.

In other words, almost 5,000 employers' applications are still stuck in this long, drawn out process. For comparison, back in pre-pandemic 2019, 20,000 foreign workers were employed in the Croatian tourism sector, and the employment process started in February at the latest.

“We're in constant contact with representatives of associations representing the interests of employers, in order to detect possible challenges faced by employers, as well as to find possible solutions to these challenges within the legal possibilities.

The Ministry is taking measures to resolve these requests as soon as possible, given the increased number of requests submitted for the employment of third-country nationals, especially in the field of tourism and catering.

In addition to the activities undertaken by the Ministry, as well as the CES, the precondition for resolving these requests as soon as possible is on the side of the employer. Because requests that aren't submitted with complete documentation require additional time from officials, which ultimately affects the period of resolving requests submitted with complete documentation,'' they point out in the Ministry.

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June the 5th, 2021 - Croatian labour force issues weren't ''born'' with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and all of the economic woes it has caused, but the ongoing public health crisis certainly hasn't helped with this burning issue. Along with the epidemiological situation, this is another huge threat to the tourism industry in this country.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, with the lack of foreign workers currently available, the mother of all problems for chefs has opened up, and in anticipation of a good summer season for this profession, wage offers are ranging from 10,000 kuna to top chefs who could earn about 3,000 to 5,000 euros.

Every place along the Adriatic coast lacks about 50 chefs, claims Pero Savanovic, a well-known and award-winning chef with 30 years of experience and a frequent member of the jury at international gastronomic competitions.

He has now taken over the position of head chef at Matrioska, ​​a restaurant in the Baska Voda Hotel group, but as he has run top restaurants all along the coast, and is active in Chefs Club Croatia and Chef kuha doma, he estimates that almost every hotel is experiencing a staff shortage of around 20 to 30 people, part of whom are on the chef’s team.

This, he says, can be confirmed by employment agencies: They offer staff from the region, and the least of all from Croatia, so that according to Savanovic, only auxiliary chefs are being hired from the Croatian market in a share of only 2 or 3 percent. The situation is similar with other occupations related to tourism - waiters, beach workers, gardeners….

Numerous catering and hospitality facilities are failing to find professional and quality workers amid this Croatian labour force issue, and for those who get their hands on staff through agencies, such as young chefs, they mention the problem of a low level of knowledge and will.

"The Croatian labour force issue and the shortage of staff is a serious threat to tourism. The problem that has been going on for several years because has erupted and become worse since the pandemic began as the industry had to change. When they saw that they would be out of work for a while, they turned to less risky jobs,'' explains Savanovic.

"Yes, we have a problem, even after a large number of people have retrained," confirms another well-known local chef, a member of the jury of the reality TV show Three, Two, One - Cook. Ivan Pazanin adds that Croatia experienced a huge issue in this regard ever since the pandemic struck the country.

"We need to hold tight for the next few months and after the summer we need to make an analysis and come up with an action programme. We had a gastronomic boom and now the market is experiencing that with all the good and bad consequences that come with it,'' says Pazanin, who opened a Dalmatian street food bar in the very heart of Split, inside Diocletian's Palace.

"I'm very satisfied: I came up with the concept in accordance with my preferences and now it turns out that the market has accepted it very well," says Pazanin.

The problem with chefs is also more pronounced in Zagreb's restaurants than it ever was before the pandemic. According to the head of the operations office at the RougeMarin Restaurant, Matej Kobad, the restrictive anti-epidemic measures have taken their toll, and a lot of damage has been caused by the lockdowns and closure of those facilities.

“Not only did earnings drop, people lost their jobs, but a lot of chefs and waiters switched to other industries,” he says, confirming that there are great difficulties in finding chefs, with an emphasis on auxiliary ones. Despite that, says Kobas, in anticipation of a very good summer season, they prepared a new investment and through a lease they expanded RougeMarin Park to an additional 2000 m2, where, in cooperation with the fashion.hr agency, they're developing the concept of festival events. Outdoor events are the future, as the pandemic has changed consumer habits.

This situation with Croatian labour force market has led to more and more employers in this industry importing Filipino, Indian and Nepalese workers.

For example, in Camp Bunja on the island of Brac, they had offers from four agencies for such workers. Finally, people from India were employed, with an apostille of impunity certified by an Indian and Croatian notary. It took about a week and a half, because India was in lockdown. As is well known to anyone who has attempted to engage in anything remotely administrative in Croatia, the issuing of work permits for third country nationals can take up to two months.

They now have a chef in the camp, but what if someone cancels, director Lana Ivicek wonders, revealing that they have had two such cases in the last month. First, they hired a Montenegrin chef, but while he was waiting for his papers, he found another job instead.

Then a young man from Argentina applied, and in the end a chef from Bosnia and Herzegovina was hired, for whom they are still completing the legal procedure. Ivicek says that the camp has 50 accommodation units with a bistro capacity of 60 guests. Occupancy is now at the level of 30%, but they expect 100% in the height of the season, so Ivicek believes that the procedure for hiring foreigners should be facilitated and accelerated so as to try to patch up the continued issues with the Croatian labour force.

Gordan Skoric from Danas radim believes that the reform of the Permanent Seasonal Institute is necessary, which supports the initiative to shorten the concept from six months to at least five, so that those interested in seasonal jobs can meet the criteria.

"If you're a permanent seasonal worker and have a full year of income, it's considered that you're a permanently employed person, but the season has been significantly shortened. If the conditions are set at five months, companies could hire permanent seasonal workers, and wouldn't then have to lay them off. In previous years, they'd have hired them at the end of April, counting on the season to start, which worked to some extent, but last year the season was reduced to three months,'' he explains. On the other hand, the profession is concerned about the future of the Croatian gastronomic scene.

Savanovic believes that Croatia will become focused on the import of cheap labour, and therefore poor quality will be the end result.

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ZAGREB, 7 May, 2021 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who is taking part in the Social Summit in Porto, said on Friday that his government would continue with its active policy towards workers because it considered workers to be important.

"After four years we are again focusing on social rights, workers' protection, social inclusion and dialogue, equal opportunities, the possibility to help our workers across the EU through the principle of European solidarity and to save jobs through cooperation," Plenković told reporters upon arrival in Porto, Portugal, where the summit is taking place.

Portugal, which has been chairing the EU since January, is hosting the summit at which the leaders of the EU's 27 member states will try to put into practice a document called "The European Pillar of Social Rights", agreed to four years ago.

Among the 20 principles stated in the document, are training and lifelong learning, gender equality, fair pay and workers' participation in talks on forms and conditions of work.

"In that regard, Croatia has done quite a lot in the past 15 months," said Plenković.

"We have saved jobs, supported workers, as well as employers. Numbers speak for themselves, today we have more insurees than we had last year, and what is more important, we have more than we did in 2019," he said.

"We have invested more than €10 billion in workers' wages, secured funds for those who had to work shorter hours, as well as for fixed costs, making it possible for more than 120,000 employers to keep their workers and pay wages," he said.

Croatians, just like citizens of other EU countries, have felt the health and economic consequences of the coronavirus crisis. Thousands of workers have lost jobs and many fear poverty.

According to figures form the Croatian Employment Service, the unemployment rate in Croatia is 9.3%.

"The state has exempted many from paying both taxes and contributions. We will continue with an active employment policy," Plenković said.

Portugal's Socialist government in January set strengthening social rights in Europe as on of its priorities during its EU presidency, which ends in June.

The European Commission in March presented a plan under which the number of poor people in the EU would be reduced by 15 million by the end of 2030.

The forum in Porto focuses on that plan and PM Plenković is expected to participate in a panel discussion on that topic later in the day.

The Porto summit is taking place one week after International Workers' Day, when workers across Europe once again pointed out their difficult situation.

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April 23, 2021 - Data analyzed by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics saw Croatian Employment in March 2021 rise compared to February but is overall lower than last year.

Employment in Croatia is overall down for 1.5% - concludes an article in Slobodna Dalmacija. This is the result of a statistical analysis conducted for this year's March compared to March 2020. The biggest fall in employment is evident in the hotel industry and hospitality. Last March, 410 people were employed in the sector, adding to the total number of 61,913, but that number is smaller for 5,087 people compared to last year when the number of employed in hotel tourism and hospitality counted 67,000.

„Compared to February, the total number of employed (in March) is up by 0.8% but compared to the same month last year; the numbers are down by 1.5%“, Slobodna Dalmacija quoted the explanation of Croatian Bureau of Statistics.

The process manufacturing industry also counts losses. Despite 2,129 newly employed people who boosted 225,287 workers in the sector, that number is down by 2000 workers less as last year the count was 227,287.  

Merchants count a rise of 803 new workers, 201,117 in total. But, this time last year the total number was 205,167, so this year's there are 4,050 people less in the sector.

On the other hand, several sectors can celebrate victory over statistics from 2020.

The construction sector hired 1,060 new workers. 100,234 people in total this year gives a 5924 boost compared to last year's 195,193 employed people.

Education has 1,094 new workers this month, 120,246 in total. This time last year's there were 117,891 people in total, which suggest 2,355 people increase.

Public service, social security, and defense sectors increase by 648 people to a total of 111,785. In conclusion, 1,325 more people are welcomed to the sector, compared to 2020 when there was 110460 in the mentioned sectors.  

Expectedly, health and social care sectors in March counted 102,636 employed, which is a 1,392 increase compared to last year's 101,244 employed people.

In absolute numbers, the mentioned sectors had the biggest influence on the total rise of employment in Croatia last month, which jumped to 11,302 people, 1,518,034 in total.

 The Bureau added that when counting all minuses and pluses, last year's numbers are better, but the progress is happening in this year nonetheless.  

Additionally, the average salary in Croatia is  7038 kuna, pointed out Slobodna Dalmacija.

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