Unemployment Continued to Rise in October

The number of employed persons in Croatia in October decreased by 1.3 percent compared to September, continuing a trend that began in August when employment has been declining on a monthly basis.

According to preliminary data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS), there were a total of 1,328,838 employed persons in Croatia at the end of October, which is 16,844 persons or 1.3 percent less than the previous month. Of the total number of employed at the end of October, the majority were employed in legal entities, totaling 1,119,093, which represents a decrease of 0.5 percent compared to September. In crafts and liberal professions, according to data obtained from the records of active insured persons of the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute (HZMO), there were 188,787 employed persons at the end of this October. Compared to September, this is a decrease of 5.6 percent.

HZMO data also shows that the number of employed agricultural insured persons in October remained stable compared to September, totaling 20,958.

According to data obtained from the Croatian Employment Service, at the end of October, there were 275,813 persons registered as unemployed, which is an increase of 6.3 percent on a monthly basis. Thus, the registered unemployment rate rose by one percentage point, from 16.2 percent in September to 17.2 percent in October.

DZS data shows that out of 19 sectors of activity, employment increased on a monthly basis in four of them. The highest percentage increase was recorded in education, at 2.1 percent. In this sector, 110,929 persons were employed at the end of October. In the manufacturing industry, which employed 196,378 workers at the end of October, the number of employed remained at the September level, while in retail, which totals 176,831 workers, the number of employed decreased by 0.9 percent. The number of employed also decreased on a monthly basis in agriculture, forestry, and fishing by 0.5 percent, in mining and quarrying by 0.3 percent, in construction by 0.8 percent, and due to the end of the tourist season, the most in the accommodation and food service activities, by 6.8 percent.