Largest Decline in Employment in the Production of Intermediate Products

The decline in the number of employees in the Croatian industry continues, with the total number of employees in the industry in December of last year being 0.9 percent lower than in November, while on an annual basis, compared to December 2011, it decreased by 6.1 percent.

According to data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, total labor productivity in the industry in 2012 compared to the previous year decreased by 1.3 percent.

Data on the movement of the number of employees in the industry by major industrial groupings show that on a monthly basis, in December compared to November of last year, the number of employees decreased the most in the production of intermediate products, by 1.6 percent.

In the production of non-durable goods for general consumption, the number of employees decreased by one percent on a monthly basis, while in the production of energy and capital goods, it decreased by 0.3 percent each. However, an increase of 0.8 percent in the number of employees was recorded in the production of durable goods for general consumption.

On an annual basis, the largest decline in the number of employees was in the production of intermediate products, by 8.7 percent. In the production of non-durable goods for general consumption, the number of employees in December was lower by 6.7 percent on an annual basis, in energy production by 4.5 percent, in the production of durable goods for general consumption by 2.2 percent, and in the production of capital goods by 2.9 percent.

Data on the movement of employees in the industry by activities show that on a monthly basis, the number of employees in mining and quarrying in December last year was lower by 0.3 percent, in the manufacturing industry it decreased by 0.9 percent, and in the supply of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning by 0.2 percent.

On an annual basis, the number of employees in the manufacturing industry decreased by 6.4 percent, in mining and quarrying it was lower by 5.6 percent, and in the supply of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning by 2.3 percent.

Among the activities within the manufacturing industry, which have the largest share in the total number of employees, the number of employees in the production of food products (share of 15.4 percent) in December last year compared to the same month in 2011 was lower by 3.6 percent, and in the production of clothing (share of 8.1 percent) by as much as 14.7 percent. The number of employees on an annual basis in the production of finished metal products decreased by 1 percent, and in the production of other means of transport by 6.6 percent.

Data from the CBS also show that labor productivity in the manufacturing industry in 2012 decreased by 0.9 percent, in mining and quarrying by 11.3 percent, while in the supply of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning, labor productivity increased by 0.2 percent.