April 21, 2022 - Osijek is fast developing and is on the road to restoring its glory as the regional centre of eastern Croatia. The city's administration takes pride in the various EU projects which they have been implementing, whether it's infrastructure and development, or education and employment. The latest - free communication skills training in Osijek!

SiB.hr writes about one of the more recent programs of the Osijek City Administration in collaboration with the Algebra University College and the EU Centar Association, which is the continuation of the EU project "Green Jobs and Communication for Work - a Guarantee of a Better Future in Slavonia". Deputy Mayor Dragan Vulin, the Head of the Administrative Department for Social Welfare, Pensioners and Health Romano Kristić, and President of the EU Centar Association Domagoj Vidaković spoke about the next activity of this project.

"I would like to thank the EU Centar Association and the Algebra University College, which are implementing a project worth more than 1.1 million kuna together with the City of Osijek. It has been running from July 16, 2020, and will continue until July 15 this year. It is important to note that the entire project was funded from the European Social Fund. These are wide-reaching funds that remain in our area and are spent for good purposes. Software development training is currently in progress, for a total of 250 hours during four months. We have 28 participants, who should finish the course by the beginning of June this year. Today, we are starting a Facebook campaign or a public call for all those interested in another activity, which is communication skills training. It will last 22 days, starting after May 1. The main goal is to ensure that our participants are more competitive when entering the labour market," said Vulin, adding that these activities will also help provide the economy with staff in the field of development technologies.

According to the head of the Administrative Department Roman Kristić, the contract for this project was signed in 2021 and will be successfully implemented. The City of Osijek helped select the target group of unemployed people who will undergo training in the Python program and education in communication skills, and provided them with top experts and mentors.

Domagoj Vidaković from the EU Centar announced that the communication skills training will be intended for marginalised groups and the long-term unemployed, from 18 to 29 years of age if they have been unemployed for at least 6 months, and those above 29 who have been unemployed for 12 months or longer.

"We invite them to get information about these activities and apply through the project website Zelena zanimanja”, said Vidaković.

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ZAGREB, 1 Feb 2022 - The unemployment rate in the European Union as well as in the euro area fell in December and in Croatia it decreased to seven percent from 7.1% in November and 8.66% in December 2020, according to figures published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, on Tuesday.

"In December 2021, the euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 7.0%, down from 7.1% in November 2021 and from 8.2% in December 2020. The EU unemployment rate was 6.4% in December 2021, down from 6.5% in November 2021 and from 7.5% in December 2020."

Eurostat estimates that "13.612 million men and women in the EU, of whom 11.481 million in the euro area, were unemployed in December 2021. Compared with November 2021, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 210 000 in the EU and by 185 000 in the euro area. Compared with December 2020, unemployment decreased by 2.196 million in the EU and by 1.828 million in the euro area."

Only Spain and Greece with double-digit jobless rates

Of the 27 member states, only Spain and Greece had double-digit unemployment rates: 13% and 12.7% respectively at the end of December.

The lowest rate was in Czechia, 2.1%, followed by Poland, 2.9%, and Germany, 3.2%.

In Croatia, there were 124,000 people out if work at the end of December, or 3,000 fewer compared to November 2021, and 31,000 fewer than in December 2020.

ZAGREB, 11 January, 2021 - There were 159,845 jobless people registered with the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) at the end of December, or 28,092, that is 21.3%, more than in December 2019, HZZ data shows.

Unemployment increased on the month too with 3,295 more people out of work or 2.1% compared to November 2020.

Daily data indicates that unemployment is continuing to increase in January 2021 too and currently there are 161,768 people registered as unemployed which is 1,923 more than at the end of December. 

HZZ currently has 5,459 vacancies advertised.

Unemployment continued to increase by more than 20% on the year in December but it slowed down to 21.3% compared to 21.9% registered in November y-o-y.

22.1% of jobless persons receive unemployment benefits in December

According to HZZ data in December 2020, there were 35,388 people on the dole, or 22.1% of all those unemployed,  or 59 more people (0.2%) y-o-y.

HZZ continued implementing job-retention measures in December for those businesses affected by the COVID pandemic however, eligibility criteria was changed. The number of workers who received job-retention grants in December amounted to 96,179  persons hired by 25,493 employers, HZZ reported.

ZAGREB, September 1, 2020 - In July 2020, unemployment slightly increased in the European Union and the euro area, while it slightly decreased in Croatia, according to a report by Eurostat on Tuesday.

The seasonally-adjusted EU unemployment rate increased to 7.2% in July 2020, up from 7.1% in June 2020 and 6.7% in July 2019.

The euro area unemployment rate was up by 0.2 percentage points to 7.9%, an increase also compared to 7.5% in July last year.

A total of 15.184 million persons were unemployed in July in the EU, including 12.893 million persons in the euro area. Compared to June, the number of persons unemployed went up by 336,000 in the EU and by 344,000 in the euro area.

Croatia's unemployment rate above European average

The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in Croatia was 8.6% in July, remaining above the EU and euro area average. The unemployment rate went down by 0.2 pp compared to June, but rose compared to July 2019, when it was 6.6%.

In July 2020, there were 157,000 jobless persons in Croatia, which is 4,000 fewer than in June 2020, but 39,000 more than in July last year.

The highest unemployment rates were registered in Spain (15.8%), Italy (9.7%) and Sweden (9.4%).

The Czech Republic had the lowest unemployment rate in the EU (2.7%).

Out of the 27 member states, the data for three of them -- Estonia, Greece and Hungary -- were not available.

Slight increase in youth unemployment

In July 2020, a total of 2.906 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, including 2.338 million in the euro area. Compared to July last year, the number of young persons unemployed went up by 37,000 in the EU and by 29,000 in the euro area.

The youth unemployment rate grew to 17% in July this year, up from 16.9% in June. It also increased by 2 pp compared to July last year.

In the euro area, the youth unemployment rate was 17.3% in July, up by 0.1 pp compared to June and by 1.7 pp compared to July 2019.

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ZAGREB, July 2, 2020 - In May 2020, Croatia was among five EU member states with the highest increase in unemployment compared to April, the EU's statistical office, Eurostat, said in a report on Thursday, reflecting the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

Many European countries are trying to prevent job losses with special job keeping measures or forced leave or a shorter working week.

At the same time governments have started gradually relieving lockdown measures and enterprises have begun operating and employing again.

Eurostat underscored that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented situation on the labour market so that additional indicators will be included in future reports including employment, under-employment and potential additional stakeholders on the labour market.

In today's report Eurostat notes that the EU's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in May was 6.7%, equal to May 2019. In April unemployment was 6.6%.

A total of 14.366 million men and women in the EU were unemployed in May 2020. Compared to April that number increased by 253,000. 

Croatia alongside Lithuania and Latvia

The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in Croatia in May was 8.9% or 0.8 percentage points higher than in April.

A total of 164,000 Croatians were out of work in May or 16,000 more than in April and 44,000 more than in May 2019.

Croatia is alongside Lithuania and Latvia which too recorded an increase in unemployment in May of 0.8 percentage points.

Cyprus recorded the biggest increase in unemployment (+1.3 p.p.). 

The lowest unemployment rates in May were recorded in Spain (14.5%) followed by Cyprus (10.2%).

The marked rise in youth unemployment

In May 2020, 2.815 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU.

In May 2020, the youth unemployment rate was 15.7% in the EU, up from 15.4% in the previous month. Compared with April 2020, youth unemployment increased by 64,000 in the EU. 

New Eurostat report shows that Croatia experienced the highest falls in employment rates in the EU in July this year. However, Croatia still has a double-digit unemployment rate along with four other countries in the EU.

PM Andrej Plenković says that owing to government measures, it can be expected that Croatia will reach the ''68% employed'' mark by the end of the mandate.

Summer always brings a promising fall in unemployment figures, and despite the vast majority of data being temporary, it looks as if things may be improving.

Trade unions gathered under the slogans – People before Profits, and Time for Resistance.

With tourist season approaching, it is expected that the trend will continue.