As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 20th of July, 2019, based on economic trends and the number of residents in other transition countries, Croatian economist Velimir Šonje estimates that less developed countries, as well as Croatia can stabilise their number of inhabitants when they reach 80 percent of EU average.

The message from Tao Zhang, the deputy director of the IMF, was that Croatia's region would grow old before it gets richer, ie, before it reaches a certain level of economic development that will provide all of its inhabitants with a decent standard.

Bleak outlooks dominate in almost all of Croatia's demographic forecasts by which the number of older people will be doubled by the middle of the century, and by the end of the century, there will be two retirees for every one working individual, Večernji list writes.

As stated, based on economic trends and the number of residents in other transition countries, Croatian economist Velimir Šonje estimates that less developed countries, as well as Croatia, can manage to stabilise their numbers of inhabitants when they reach 80 percent of EU average. - The Czech Republic, Slovenia and Slovakia, with no particular population decline, are around or above 80 percent of the EU average.

Estonia, which has recently reached that level, had experienced a decline earlier, but it eventually stopped, says Šonje. A researcher from the Vienna Institute, Isolda Mara, came to the conclusion that salary growth resulted in the slowing of certain types of migration. Another conclusion was also drawn, that external mobility from the newer EU member states had slowed down since 2015, and is likely to remain at a lower level in the future.

However, this analyst also points out the fact that it is too early to talk about stronger return migration. 2018 could prove to be a breakthrough year for Croatia, because last year, there was a decrease in emigration and growth in immigration ever since Croatia joined the European Union back in 2013. New Europe is copying Western countries more than those in Croatia realise it is, and they're filling their own labour market gaps with immigration from their less developed, poorer close neighbours.

Even though it makes up part of the group of countries that have managed to reach 80 percent of the average EU GDP, emigration is also still present in neighbouring Slovenia, where this year, according to official information, there are about 40,000 foreigners working there, mostly from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Unlike Croatian migrants who raise their anchors and take their entire families with them abroad, Slovenians prefer daily migration and travel to work in Austria or Italy, but continue to ''make their beds'' at home in Slovenia.

''Croatia's tragedy is the fact that it could already be close to 80 percent of EU's average growth. In 2007, Croatia was at 61 percent of the EU average, Poland was at 53 percent, and today Poland is at 71 percent! In the meantime, Croatia has steadily grown two percentage points faster than the EU average, today Croatia could have been at 76 percent instead of at 63 percent,'' said Velimir Šonje, who calculated that Croatia would reach 85 percent of the EU's average development level by 2035, if it continued to grow two percentage points faster than the EU average.

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There are several burning Croatian economic issues, shaped primarily by a lack of qualified workforce and an increasingly bleak demographic picture, is causing concern for its immediate neighbours, most of which aren't members of the EU and therefore don't adhere to one of the EU's four fundamental freedoms of access to the single market - the free movement of labour.

Despite not being EU members, countries like Montenegro are beginning to bite their nails in fear of Croatia's dire situation leaking over into their country.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 2nd of July, 2019, concerned employers warn that even Croatia's neighbour to the south, Montenegro, will not remain immune to the outflow of labour that is negatively affecting the countries of the region and is continuing to spread, and the consequences of such a problem, being dubbed the ''Croatian situation'', are already being felt in Montenegro, regardless of the fact that this Southeastern European country is nowhere near anything like European Union membership.

The Employers' Union of Montenegro have stated that they believe the worst is yet to come for their country, which will likely be harder hit than Croatia.

''It's currently difficult to assess the impact of emigration as well as the serious threat of the aging of our population on economic development, as we don't have any official data. At the Employers' Union of Montenegro (UPCG), we believe that the outflow of workers, if we continue on at this pace, will be devastating for the Montenegrin labour market, especially given the fact that Montenegro has been struggling for years with a lack of adequate workforce and is replacing it by employing foreign workers, mainly with workers from other countries of the region, which is now turning to the European market and Croatia as the closest EU member state,'' the employers' association warned.

Just a few years ago, Croatia only allowed a few thousand foreigners to be hired by Croatian companies, and there has been an increase in this number to 65,100 (non EU nationals) this year.

In addition to the introduction of this particular measure, Croatia has also adopted a model for Croatian seasonal workers which enables things like insurance to be ensured throughout the year, beyond the summer tourist season, in which the work of seasonal employees takes place. All this is done in attempt to make sure Croatia's economic growth doesn't slow down and as such reduce the competitiveness of the Croatian economy, nor deal yet another negative blow to Croatia's demographic movements on the state's resources, the aforementioned Montenegrin association states.

''With the additional announcement of the opening up of the labour markets of certain European countries, the shortage of workers will soon become a key issue for the Montenegrin economy - not only in the field of hospitality, tourism and construction, but also many other areas, such as in healthcare, where we've witnessed the significant outflow of those who work in healthcare, which is perhaps the most sensitive issue for all of us.

Looking at Croatia's unenviable situation from within close quarters, the Montenegrins in particular are finding this economic situation more than alarming, forcing them to take measures to make sure that their country is more attractive not only to potential foreign investors, but also to Montenegrin employees.

In order to try to avoid what is considered to be an ''inevitable'' Croatian situation, Montenegro is expected to respond in a timely manner to issues at the state level by adopting responsible strategic decisions, starting with the labour market, which needs further assessment, improving the conditions for maintaining existing jobs and opening up new jobs, a faster and more efficient administration, ensuring a more predictable and stable business environment and a stable tax system that would eventually lead to adequately paid and more job satisfaction.

Montenegro is obviously looking at Croatia's constantly worsening demographic trends, dire economic situation and the outflow of qualified workers as a burning issue, and is expecting all state institutions to get on their feet to try to tackle such a situation in their country, before it's too late.

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Students from numerous Croatian schools up and down the country will be offered the chance to be trained for positions which are more in line with the current needs of the Croatian labour market.

In seventeen Croatian counties, students enrolling in this year's summer program will be given the option to take their education in a more practical direction in an attempt to aid the ailing Croatian economy, currently burdened with a demographic crisis, the main symptom of which is a lack of an appropriately qualified workforce.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/VLM writes on the 21st of June, 2019, what this involves is vocational interests that have never before been taught in these schools. In various secondary schools, each county has opened up new subjects by predicting the number of interested students who could enroll and start their education for occupations needed on the Croatian labour market.

Owing to the move, at the beginning of the new school year at the Prelog secondary school in Međimurje County, seven future brewers will be educated, and in a similar school in Čakovec, twenty places for budding interior decorators and ten places for shoe modellers and those who deal with leather garments will be opened.

Future high school students of a school located in Križevci will be able to, among other things, enroll to study to be computer technicians, a new class will be opened at a school in Koprivnica, where future technicians will be trained for electrical machines with applied computing, and in Đurđevac, education for potential future pedicurists will be made available.

In another Zadar school, students will be able to study to become CNC operators from autumn onwards, while in nearby Benkovac, the plans are to educate fourteen glassmasters and six chimney sweeps. In Croatia's southernmost county, Dubrovnik-Neretva County, they have decided to offer the opportunity for future high school students to be educated as hairdressers and beauticians, according to the Croatian Ministry of Education.

Zagreb high school students will be able to enroll in a language school which will be formed in one class in which there will be places for 26 students.

In Ludbreg this autumn, six students will have the opportunity to enroll in studying to become home appliance installers and six places will be available to learn the ropes of baking and the type of work in bakeries. In Vukovar-Srijem County, new courses are open to three schools, one will teach future auxiliary chefs and confectioners, there will be 22 places for the education of future hotel and tourism technicians, and budding auxiliary administrators will also have the chance to educated.

A new class will be opened at a school in Sisak where 24 future technicians will be educated for the development of video games, and in Velika Gorica near Zagreb, there will be a new class of mechatronics technicians starting this autumn.

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