May 16, 2023 - According to the national employment office data, there has been a massive influx of foreign workers in Croatia, mainly from India, Nepal, and the Philippines.

As Poslovni / Večernji write, from the beginning of 2021 until May of this year, the Međimurje Police Department issued around 8,400 residence and work permits to foreign nationals.

Their number has been growing exponentially from year to year, so in 2021, 2,721 permits were issued, 4,195 were issued in 2022, and in the first four months of this year, 1,546 have already been issued. Looking at the total number of employees, Međimurje, which employs about 42,500 people, is probably the record holder in Croatia regarding the share of foreign workers, who now make up about five percent of the total population of this northernmost Croatian county.

If this pace continues, in five to ten years, a fifth of the inhabitants of Međimurje will be foreign citizens. The county, which faced massive emigration for temporary work abroad in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, is today a destination for foreign workers from Nepal, the Philippines, and India... They choose Međimurje because of good working conditions and vacancies employers usually cannot fill with domestic workers.

"The numbers have been growing rapidly. We have had a sudden increase. Local workers go abroad because they think it's better there, but in my opinion, and I know the situation in the world, that's not the case. But even though wages are slowly rising, soon there will be no employer who will not have to resort to hiring foreign workers", says entrepreneur Ivan Senčar, vice president of the economic and social council of Međimurje County.

According to the data from the Čakovec regional office of the Croatian Employment Service, the ten most sought-after occupations in 2022 and the first four months of 2023 have been locksmiths (280), waiters (214), cashiers(160), numerically controlled machine operators (159), welders (153), tailors (144), shoemakers (142), carpenters (140), truck drivers (119) and cooks (114). Mostly, therefore, these are vocational deficit occupations for which Croatia lacks an available labor force.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated News section.

May 8, 2023 - The situation in the Croatian job market seems to be quite dynamic. Croats are changing jobs more than ever before, and they intend to continue the practice of quitting. This was confirmed by research conducted last year by the Department of Work Psychology of the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb in cooperation with Hendal and a separate survey by the MojPosao portal.

As Poslovni writes, according to research by the Department of Work Psychology, a fifth of Croats were looking for a new job at the time of the survey, and a quarter (27%) intended to do so in the next year.

Research results by the MojPosao portal were a lot more drastic and show that in the last three years, almost half (45%) of employees have quit their jobs, and nearly every other employee plans to do so within a year.

Salary as the main reason for quitting

Zvonimir Galić, a professor from the Department of Work Psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy, explains that due to the research methodology, the figures of the MojPosao portal are probably overestimated, but they confirm a dynamic trend that has never existed in the domestic labour market. And the answer to why people change jobs is actually very simple. "Because they can," says Galić.

"For the first time, we have a situation of a huge lack of workers in all segments, and employers have to fight for them. At the same time, our salaries are generally low and have further decreased due to inflation, so people are looking for work where they can get a better salary," explains the professor.

It is precisely this - salary - that is the number one reason why people will decide to change jobs. But it is not the only one. Research by the MojPosao portal thus shows that poor working conditions are high on the list of reasons people would start looking for a new job.

After salary (49%), workers also mention bad interpersonal relations (45%), lack of professional advancement opportunities (42%), undervaluation by the employer (42%) and poor working conditions that affect health (41%). It turns out that despite the chronic lack of workers, domestic employers still do not understand the value of workers.

Investing in people

"Management of human resources has progressed a lot in recent years, but it is still weak. Many employers still do not understand that they must deal with people better. It is as if they remain blind to what is happening in the labour market. First, therefore, they must raise wages. But that will not be enough. People want a working environment in which they can grow and progress", says the Department of Work Psychology professor. Also, Galić believes that the trend of resigning or changing jobs will continue for two reasons.

"Demographic trends are such that more people are retiring than entering the labour market. The labour market is, therefore, structurally changing. Another reason is the continuing emigration," Galić states, adding that such trends are not bad.

"I think that's good. We had a sluggish labour market for years, and changing jobs was most often related to getting, not resigning. Now that we have a reversed situation, the consequences will be better for the workers, which is an increase in wages and greater investment in employees and their skills," the professor points out.

Regarding occupations, his research shows that the most dynamic is in the ICT and trade, transport and tourism sectors. The IT sector is characterised by a lack of specialists and the best working conditions, as IT employees will earn 1,587 euros net per month on average, data from the CBS show.

Therefore, it should not be surprising that employees in this sector easily opt for better opportunities, which are not difficult to get. On the other hand, the trade, transport and tourism sectors are characterised by low wages and worse working conditions, so it should not be surprising that people quit and look for a better job. They will, on average, earn between 878 and 1025 euros per month.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated News section.

May 2, 2023 - These days, Opatija is full of cheerful and smiling people eager to have a good time and receive quality service, and this is expected for the whole season, Milan Sesar, owner of the Mali Raj Hotel at the junction of Ičići and Opatija, said in Dnevnik N1. However, he warned that the Croatian tourism sector will face one major obstacle.

"I'm afraid we will have a big problem. Our fridges are full of goods - from fish, meat and other foods, but I am afraid that there is no one to serve and prepare them, that is, a certain number of people will not receive adequate service. This is the biggest problem in our profession - workers are leaving us, and new ones are not coming. People who come to work with us are total beginners who have never worked in this profession. Then by the time they are trained, they leave again", said Sesar, emphasizing that the whole society must be concerned about the workforce, especially in tourism, as reported by Poslovni.

"Working in tourism is not easy. You need to speak foreign languages, be able to approach guests, be a good salesperson, and that cannot be someone who arrived yesterday from the street. I'm afraid that this will be our biggest problem this summer - that we won't have anyone to serve, sell, take the euros that the guests are ready to spend", believes Milan.

As the solution to this problem, he sees two different ways: "One would be to pay these people well, and the other for the entire community to find a formula on how to invest and convince young people to stay here and not move away so that they can have a quality existence and be happy with their work."

When asked how much the waiters earn in his hotel, he replied that these are internal matters and added:

"My waiter would earn the same as in Italy, if not more. My staff have been working for 25, 30 years each, which is a sign that they are adequately compensated because otherwise, they would not have stayed so long."

He also said that he personally has no problem with the workforce because their workers have the same salary throughout the year. "When a man knows that he will get an equally good salary and that it is safe, then he will not even think of moving on," he said.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated News section.

April the 28th, 2023 - The Zagreb Job Fair, which will be being held at the Zagreb Fair (Velesajam) in the middle of next month, is set to attract more than 150 companies from Croatia and abroad.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, over the period from May the 17th to the 18th, the Zagreb Job Fair will be held under the organisation of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in Zagreb, the FER Career Centre, the FER Student Association and the Electrical Engineering Students' Club (KSET). Due to the great interest of companies and visitors, this year's location of the Zagreb Job Fair will be at the city's Velesajam (more precisely at Pavilion 11D).

Just like every year, numerous companies will be presented at the Zagreb Job Fair, and this time as many as 152 of them from across fourteen different industries, mostly from the technology, information and communication sectors, will be present there.

Some of the companies that will be presented are dSPACE, Photomath, Devot, Span, Infobip, and visitors will be able to participate in a total of seventeen workshops, 24 talks, panel discussions and something called Hot Talks. At the end of the opening day of this year's Zagreb Job Fair, visitors will be able to enjoy the traditional Loosen up party. A detailed programme as well as details about applications can be found by clicking this link.

"We're glad that this year we have the opportunity to organise the Zagreb Job Fair, which has proved to be a unique opportunity to connect and develop relations between our faculty and numerous well-known companies that come from the Republic of Croatia, as well as from abroad. Visitors will have the opportunity to listen to speakers from renowned companies, as well as follow an interesting panel discussion, we'll also have our Hot Talk, which this year will be attended by Hrvoje Cosic, the director of Aircash,'' said Nikolina Relic, career advisor of the FER Career Centre,

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated news section.

February the 15th, 2023 - Despite the economic crisis that we're still stuck in owing to not only the negative effects left behind by the coronavirus pandemic but also the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Croatian labour market is coping well. There's even been a considerable drop in the unemployment rate.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, it's to be expected that the start of seasonal employment will break the trend of the increase in the number of unemployed people on a monthly basis, as it always does each and every year. In January, 122,369 unemployed people were registered with the Croatian Employment Service (CES), meaning that on a monthly basis, the number of registered unemployed persons continued to grow for the fourth month in a row. Compared to December, it increased by 4553 or 3.9%.

However, at the annual level, as RBA analysts point out in their analysis, the downward trend that began back in April 2021 has continued, and compared to the same period in 2022, a decrease of 8,624 persons or 6.6% was recorded.

"Compared to January 2021, the number of unemployed people registered at the CES is lower by 42,976 people or 26%, while compared to January 2020, it's lower by 17,555 people or 12.5%. This is a reflection of the recovery of economic activity after the coronavirus pandemic, but also of generally positive trends across the Croatian labour market, which has been reflected in the improvement compared to the period before the outbreak of the pandemic," the analysis states.

Under the influence of these processes, the Croatian labour market is active and the demand for workers definitely hasn't decreased, and according to RBA analysts, the lack of labour in certain industries is also reflected in the increase in the number of workers coming into Croatia from third countries.

According to the Institute's data, the number of received applications for residence and work permits for foreign (non-EEA) workers in 2022 stood at almost 130,000, and 109,241 were granted by MUP. During January, 12,653 applications were received for 163 occupations, and the most requested were from the construction industry. Most of the requests received came from the City of Zagreb, followed by Istria and Split-Dalmatia counties.

However, reliable statistics on the total number of workers from third countries don't yet exist, so we can only talk about estimates, the analysis emphasises. Economist Damir Novotny has drawn attention to the fact that it isn't a question of the general robustness of the Croatian labour market, but of the sectoral one, because the Croatian labour market is quite shallow and there's a big difference from sector to sector, as well as territorially, so one type of trends applies to Adriatic Croatia, and the other for the continental part of the country, and especially for the City of Zagreb.

"The whole of eastern Slavonia has a weak offer of jobs spanning all sectors, while Istria has a trend of immigration because it has a very strong offer of jobs in the tourism sector, but also in the accompanying activities that supply it with food and various services, which is why Istria is the most developed Croatian region after Zagreb,'' explained Novotny.

Of the total number of unemployed registered back in January, 12,996 (77.1%) came from previous employment, and the most common reason for their job termination was the expiration of a fixed-term employment contract (52.4%). Back at the end of January, there were almost 28,000 vacancies, which is 77.5% more than there were back at the end of 2022 and 5.3% on an annual basis.

According to RBA analysts, the Croatian labour market is continuing to show very strong resistance to unfavourable economic and geopolitical trends so far in 2023 - this is a characteristic of the entire EU, which is contributed to by the already present labour shortage. In the coming months, they expect the continuation of positive trends, but at a lower intensity due to the slowdown in economic activities.

Novotny notes that tourism, despite the global slowdown in economic activity, will continue the strong growth that began last year as new capacities are opened and investments are being made, and this is similar to the construction sector, which is facing an investment cycle funded by the EU. Processes on the Croatian labour market in the upcoming period will also continue to differ greatly from sector to sector.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated news section.

February 11, 2023 – Do we have a phenomenon of quietly quitting Croatia? The change in the approach to work, popularly called "quiet quitting," which marked last year as a trend, apparently has not quite reached Croatia.

The Moj-posao portal researched this, as Poslovni writes. Quiet quitting is a phenomenon where employees do not allow themselves to "burn out" at work but do their jobs to the extent they are paid. This is actually not a new phenomenon in the world, but it has only become more pronounced due to the chronic shortage of workers on the market. This opens up greater opportunities to choose and adjust life priorities, especially for younger people.

Gallup's research, for example, showed that in the USA about 20 years ago, slightly more than half of the workers had this attitude towards work, and that share has only increased now. According to research by the Moj-posao portal in Croatia, 57% of workers still do their best. This also means overtime work, proposing projects and solutions, taking their work home, and attending team building...

The category of people who practice "quiet quitting" in Croatia includes 28% of employees, who are engaged precisely as much as they have contracted with the employer. As the reason for such an approach to work, more than half (55%) state that they no longer care about work and perform tasks without emotion.

Slightly fewer (53%) point out that they put less effort into taking on jobs and wait for their superiors to delegate them directly. A third say that they are passive at work do not participate in creating new ideas, and do not think about improving work processes. One in five refuse to participate in the exchange of ideas and group discussions.

About 13% of workers put in the minimum effort, just enough to get the job done, and 1% work below the minimum and intend to keep this attitude "as long as it goes."

Money is not the main reason for such an approach to work, but the feeling that their superiors do not value the employees. Money comes in second, and the third reason is the balance of private and business life. Nevertheless, for 78% of employees, a higher salary would motivate them to change their attitude and do their best, while for 61%, recognition for their efforts would be enough to get them more engaged.

For a significant number (41%), more flexible working hours and a shortened working week would be encouraging. It is also interesting that more than half (53%) stated that employers did not notice changes in their attitude towards work, and only 7% of their employers "let them know that they see what is happening."

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated News section.

January 23, 2023 - Good trends in the Croatian labour market. One million and 617 thousand residents are currently working, with the level of employment in Croatia last being that high back in 2008. In addition, the country marks record low unemployment, equal to the average of the European Union: 121,189 residents.

However, as Poslovni / HRT report, long-term unfavorable trends are still present. The aging population and the outflow of working-age people to other European countries. The ratio between employees and pensioners is still unfavorable - the number of workers per pensioner is 1:1.32. The job market opportunities, though, are changing faster than ever before.

Living in Croatia and working remotely for an employer who may not even be in the same time zone is an increasingly popular form of work in the country. Globalization has also affected Croatia. Employers based in the country have fewer and fewer professionals at their disposal because it is more profitable for such workers to be self-employed and freelance.

Labour market

"This means significant support for foreign employers, who are not registered in the Republic of Croatia, which means that the high subsidies given for independent work should be abolished compared to work based on an employment contract," said Hrvoje Balen, the president of Algebra's Board of Directors and president of the Executive Board of HUP ICT.

The demand for labour is still very strong. For example, employers in tourism are starting to look for workers earlier every season. Last year, 120,000 permits were issued to foreign workers, while at the same time, we have an equal number of unemployed people.

"We certainly expect growth; I think this is a strong growth that will not be pronounced in the future; we expect an increase of twenty to thirty percent, it is difficult to estimate at this moment because a lot of these work permits are extended permits for people to stay and work in Croatia," said Ivan Vidiš, the State Secretary in the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development.

There are more and more job ads, with a 22 increase in their number compared to 2019 on the Moj Posao portal alone. However, job advertisements from foreign employers do not follow this trend.

"Unfortunately, our market is exhausted, and in principle, there is a reduction in foreign advertisements in Croatia. Simply, so many people have moved out of Croatia that now it is more difficult for foreigners to find them, and they are looking further south, further east, on other continents", said the director of the Moj Posao portal, Igor Žonja.

Experts expect that there could be a slowdown in economies this year, which will also affect the labour market.

"We can see a certain slowdown, a cooling of the economy, and the labour market will feel this trend with a small lag; maybe sometime in the spring, slightly lower demand for work will be felt. It all very, very much depends on how much this recession in our foreign partners will hurt Croatia, how deep it will be, and how long it will last", stressed Dr. sc. Marina Tkalec, Institute of Economics, Zagreb.

In addition, due to inflation, higher wages will be in demand. Although we have more money in our wallets, it is worth less because inflation has grown faster than wages.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Lifestyle section.

January 4, 2022 - According to an analysis by the MojPosao portal, in 2021 more jobs were sought than before the pandemic and the most sought-after occupations were waiter, salesman, driver, storekeeper, cook, programmer, and production worker.

Last year, more than 74,000 job advertisements were published on the MojPosao portal, which is 42 percent more than in 2020 and eight percent more than in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, while more than 1.5 million work applications were received, the MojPosao portal announced today.

"The analysis of the entire labor market, taking into account the total number of published job advertisements, shows a growing trend of labor demand and recovery of the labor market from the effects of the coronavirus crisis," said the portal MojPosao. According to the data they present, the most sought-after occupations in 2021 were: waiter (bartender), salesman (trader), driver, storekeeper, cook, programmer, and production worker.

Compared to the previous year, the highest growth in the number of advertisements was recorded in the categories of human resources (growth of 130 percent) and architecture (growth of 127 percent), while compared to 2019, the highest growth was recorded in the categories of construction, geodesy, geology 51 percent) and health, social work (growth of 46 percent).

The MojPosao portal also pointed out that last year more than 1.5 million employee applications were received, which is 6 percent more than in 2020 and 21 percent more than in 2019.

"Despite the fact that the beginning of the year did not look promising due to the rigorous epidemiological measures in force in January and February, which limited economic developments, the mitigation of measures in March led to a recovery in the labor market and significant growth in vacancies jobs which continued until the end of the year. Moreover, thanks to the high demand for labor in the second half of the year, the total number of published job advertisements exceeded the figures from the record, pre-pandemic 2019'', the portal states.

The director of the MojPosao portal, Igor Žonja, pointed out that the favorable trends are a reflection of a fairly successful tourist season and somewhat later seasonal employment than is usually the case, and "for some time now Croatia has been looking for more workers".

Last year, more than half of the ads (52 percent) referred to Zagreb and Zagreb County, followed by coastal counties - Primorje-Gorski Kotar (12 percent), Sibenik-Knin (also 12 percent), and Istria County (10 percent).

Considering the type of employment, in 2021, vacancies accounted for 73 percent of the total number of vacancies, which is almost the same as the year before, according to the MojPosao portal, noting that the ads provide for the possibility of marking more types of employment for the same job. Thus, there was 53 percent of job advertisements, also the same as in 2020. Seasonal workers were sought in six percent of the ads, while three percent of the ads were related to student jobs.

According to the MojPosao portal, 49 percent of employees were interested in a permanent job, while 24 percent were interested in part-time work. Also, seven percent of job seekers were interested in part-time work, and almost the same number of employees expressed interest in seasonal employment.

In 2021, employers were most often looking for candidates with a high school diploma - in 51 percent of advertisements, a high school diploma was a condition for successfully applying to the competition.

In 31 percent of the ads, knowledge of English was required, and in eight percent, German, while other languages ​​were less represented. Work experience was required in less than half of the ads (42 percent), on average two years and four months, the same as the year before.

In 2021, employers published more than 3,000 job advertisements abroad, which is 58 percent more than in 2020 and as much as 73 percent more than in 2019. Most advertisements abroad were published for work in Germany, Austria, and Slovenia, according to a statement from the MojPosao portal.

Source: Telegram.hr

For more, check out our dedicated business section.

ZAGREB, 3 Jan 2022 - Over 2,000 jobs have been saved and 54,000 animals purchased thanks to financial instruments under the Rural Development Programme, the Ministry of Agriculture said on Monday.

fi-compass, the European Commission's platform for advisory services on financial instruments, is preparing a brochure on a case study of the Croatian micro and small loan scheme as an example of good practice for other EU members to follow. This is the result of positive ratings by end-users and the successful use of funding from financial instruments of the Rural Development Programme which Croatian farmers used in 2019 more than farmers in any other EU member state, while in 2020 the primacy was taken over by Poland and Croatia was second, the ministry said.

The ministry said that the total amount of funding from the financial instruments had increased several times, from the initial HRK 536 million to HRK 782 million, with HRK 437 million disbursed to 1,216 end users by the end of October 2021.

"Thanks to the projects supported by the financial instruments, more than 54,000 animals have been purchased and more than 2,300 jobs have been opened or preserved," the ministry said.

It noted that micro and small loans for rural development have been available under the Rural Development Programme since 2018, adding that 83 percent of their users are micro-businesses and 21 percent are young farmers. In order to contribute to generational renewal, the new program period 2023-2027 will make it possible for young farmers to buy land without any limits in the total value of the investment.

In December 2021, the ministry carried out a survey among 575 respondents, including some of the present end-users of financial instruments, and they rated the system of implementing financial instruments as very positive. The interest rate, which is 0.46 percent on average for all loans, was given the highest rating by 79 percent of users, while nearly a third of respondents said they had applied for a financial instrument and had their application granted in 92 percent of cases.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 3 Jan 2022 - The EIZ Online Vacancy Index (OVI) has shown that labor demand in 2021 was up 5.5% compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019 and the positive trend continued in December with labor demand up by 32% year on year, the Institute of Economics, Zagreb (EIZ) reported on Monday.

"Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the calendar year has ended with good news because the latest OVI index has shown a continuing positive image of the labor market," EIZ said on its website.

The OVI index for December 2021 shows that labor demand in 2021 was 75% higher than for data related to December 2020 and 32% higher compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019. This is the eighth month in a row in which labor demand has exceeded pre-pandemic months.

Labor demand in 2021 was 5.5% higher than it was in 2019 while the OVI index was 48% higher in 2021 compared to 2020.

EIZ reported that positive trends are also visible quarter on quarter with the OVI index for the fourth quarter of 2021 is as much as 60% higher than in Q4, 2020 and 20% higher compared with 2019 Q4.

The most sought-after workers were salespeople, cooks, waiters, warehouse workers, and drivers while 46 percent of advertisements were for fixed-term employment and 44 percent for permanent employment. In 2021, 1.6% of the jobs advertised offered the opportunity of working from home which is a significant increase compared to 2019. Prior to the pandemic, a mere 0.1% provided that option.

In addition, 2.6% of job advertisements in 2021 were for pensioners, up 1.2% from 2020 and 0.6% from 2019, EIZ analysts reported.

OVI is a monthly index of online job advertisements developed by EIZ in cooperation with the MojPosao job search website. The index aims to provide timely information on current labor demand.

For more, check out our politics section.