Mrsić: The Number of Unemployed Will Continue to Rise

The Minister of Labor and Pension System, Mirando Mrsić, stated today that the number of unemployed in Croatia will continue to rise, as more jobs are lost each day than are created, and the first changes to this trend are expected in the second half of 2013.

In response to a journalist’s question about his satisfaction with employment measures, given that the future number of unemployed is rising and that the New Year could be welcomed with a figure of 350 thousand unemployed, Mrsić said that when looking at the number of unemployed, ‘one must look at another dial, the dial of jobs.’

From 2008 until now, we have lost more than 200 thousand jobs, more jobs are lost each day than are created, and despite the fact that we have employed more people through the HZZ this year than last year, it has not been enough to reduce the negative trend caused by company bankruptcies and job losses. This results in an increase in the number of unemployed, Mrsić said in response to journalists’ questions after signing an agreement on cooperation between HOK and the Ministry of Labor and Pension System.

The number of unemployed will continue to rise as a consequence of the crisis and what was not done in 2008 when we needed to restructure certain things, but instead, we continued to incur debt and lose jobs, Mrsić believes, adding that the only real measures for reducing unemployment and creating new jobs are investments and the arrival of fresh capital.

He predicts that the first shifts in the number of employed will be seen in the second half of 2013 when ‘more jobs will be created than lost.’ However, this will not significantly reduce unemployment, as it will take at least another six months for this trend to stabilize and reflect in a decrease in unemployment, he said.

Commenting on employers’ advocacy for a more flexible Labor Law, Mrsić said that the first consultation meeting with social partners was held yesterday, where certain topics and areas from the Labor Law were proposed for which they believe consensus should be reached.

We proposed a different way of working on amending the Labor Law, namely a so-called bipartite dialogue, where we agreed that employers and unions sit at the table and see if they can agree on certain topics in the Labor Law, including flexibility, Mrsić said in response to questions about employers’ demands for flexibility in the Labor Law.

The President of the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP), Ivica Mudrinić, stated today that the issue of labor legislation should be opened as soon as possible and aligned with the current situation.

– The issue of labor legislation should be opened as soon as possible and adjusted to the current situation, but without derogating or taking away workers’ rights, rather creating conditions that will enable employment, Mudrinić said in response to journalists’ questions after today’s presentation of HT’s TeraStream network.

Commenting on the number of unemployed and the effects of employment measures, Mudrinić said he welcomes the government’s announcements of projects and laws for large investments.