The Republic of Croatia is in a group of four European Union member states with a lower uncovered demand for workers when compared to one year earlier. The Croatian paradox of staff fighting over workers who either don't exist or don't want to work, while would-be staff complain about there being no jobs continues.

As Ana Blaskovic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 19th of March, 2019, the workforce problem is rapidly becoming one of the most burning issues not only here in Croatia but across the European Union. In the last quarter of last year, Croatia ranked among the four EU member states with a lower uncovered demand for workers than was recorded during the same period last year, Eurostat figures show.

At the Union level, as well as at its very core in which the euro currency wains, the rate of vacancies grew to 2.3 percent during the fourth quarter of 2018. Just for comparison, this rate, which shows uncovered demand for labour, was 2.1 percent in the previous quarter, and 2.2 percent in the Eurozone.

The availability of labour in the last year has become the top theme for domestic employers. While a few years ago this issue was only mentioned from time to time, in the last surveys answered by business owners, it emerged at the very top of the list. In Poslovni Dnevnik's recent interview with AmCham, Andrea Doko Jelušić pointed out that when the last survey was taken, their members underlined this topic as the main constraining factor in 2018, while back in 2017, it was placed on the list for the first time ever.

Reflecting on the workforce as an inevitable issue of the competitiveness of the domestic economy, CNB/HNB Governor Boris Vujčić said on Monday that Croatia is specific in the EU because as many as 40 percent of working-age citizens don't work. "When looking at the employment rate, Croatia is the second worst in the European Union after Greece, which means that everyone else has to work harder to maintain the same level of living standards," said the governor.

The key to the mobilisation of this population, Vujčić believes, is to evaluate the positive changes in pension regulations which extend the working life. The EU and the Eurozone are currently experiencing the most problems with finding workers in the service sector, with the job vacancy rate standing at 2.6 percent. Industry and construction account for 2.1 percent in the EU, and 2 percent in the Eurozone. In Croatia, the vacancy rate in the fourth quarter fell to 1.4 percent, which was the lowest level in just over a year. The highest jump in labour demand for the same period last year was in the fourth quarter in the Czech Republic, Austria, Malta, and Germany.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and politics pages for much more.

Click here for the original article by Ana Blaskovic for Poslovni Dnevnik

The Days of jobs in tourism events across three Croatian cities, both in continental Croatia and on the coast, are set to offer new employment opportunities for many seeking to enter into the world of tourism, which is by far Croatia's greatest economic asset.

While jobs in Croatia might appear to be few and far between for many of those seeking opportunities elsewhere across the territory of the European Union, tourism remains by far the strongest sector in Croatia, with numerous positions available up and down the coast, and doors opening even in the previously overlooked continental part of Croatia as more and more tourists 

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 25th of January, 2019, the Days of jobs in tourism event will bring together many Croatian employers from across the tourism sector to get both currently unemployed people and those seeking a career change interested in working in Croatia's booming tourism sector this upcoming summer season.

The ''Days of jobs in tourism" event will be held for the third consecutive year this year under the official organisation of the Ministry of Labour and Pensions, the Ministry of Tourism, the Croatian Employment Service and the Croatian National Tourist Board.

The aim of this event is to enable employers and the currently unemployed to connect with each other, gain important information on employment opportunities and engage in tourism career development in one place.

According to the estimates of the event's organisers, this year, "Days of jobs in tourism" will bring together more than 120 employers and more than 17,000 visitors seeking seasonal employment from three cities - January the 18th in Osijek, January the 25th in Zagreb and February the 1st down on the coast itself in Split.

Minister of Labour Marko Pavić and Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli paid a visit to the Zagreb event which start at 10:00 today at the Zagreb Fair (Velesajam).

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated business page for much more.

The demographic has had numerous repercussions on Croatian society as a whole, and a lack of adequate or qualified labour force for Croatian employers is perhaps the most hard hit sector of them all. But just how is the tourism sector doing?

The paradoxical society which somehow manages to exist despite all and any circumstance in Croatia is that there is no work for a lot of people, while on the other hand there is a lot of work on offer but nobody to actually do it.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 5th of January, 2019, from November 2018 to February 2019, HZZ is conducting a survey among Croatia's unemployed population on their intentions and their readiness to work along the coast in various tourist destinations.

Croatian employers, more specifically hoteliers from numerous tourist resorts up and down the Croatian coast are searching out potential seasonal staff from continental Croatia earlier and earlier with each passing year, with their sights set on the overlooked eastern Croatia in particular. Thus, HZZ's Vinkovci-based regional office has already organised as many as eight employer visits for the purpose of seeking seasonal workers for 2019's upcoming tourist season this summer.

In order to better respond to the demands of Croatian employers and to better coordinate the job supply with the demand, HZZ's aforementioned survey focused primarily on how Croatia's unemployed population feel about working on the coast should the opportunity be offered to them.

The day of jobs in tourism for the Slavonian counties is set to be held on January the 18th in Osijek, and HZZ's Vinkovci branch office is organising transport on the day for all those interested, Glas Slavonije writes.

As of now, it is unofficially known that Croatian employers are willing to offer higher salaries, raising them by 10 to 20 percent for chefs, waiters and confectioners, with almost all potential job offers including not only free accommodation, but free food for the duration of the work too.

In the past year, from January to September, the most sought after were employees chefs, assistant chefs, waiters, cleaners, receptionists, people to work in shops, and other occupations in the area of ​​accommodation and food preparation and service, as well as the wholesale and retail trade.

In that period, there was a pressing need for 23,652 seasonal workers in Croatia, and a little less, 22,144, were actually employed during that time, which indicates that Croatia's lack of seasonal workers is not significant or particularly worrying, yet.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated lifestyle and business pages for more information on Croatian employers and much more.

The Croatian National Bank estimates that the number of workers in the next twenty years in Croatia will be reduced by half a million.

Good news for Plava Laguna employees.

As the demographic crisis bites, many tourist oriented businesses have been forced to go to great lengths to secure staff for the summer season.

June 14, 2018 — One man's attempt to explain the lack of seasonal workers reveals an uncomfortable truth.

Croatia's seasonality is both a blessing and a curse when it comes to employment and economic woes.

You just can't get the staff. No, really.

There are some black stories around when it comes to the state of things workwise in Croatia, but for some, everything's dandy...