Increasing Demand for Seasonal Workers, Especially in Tourism and Retail

In August of this year, there was a three percent increase in employment in seasonal jobs compared to July, and the reported demand for seasonal workers also rose by 3.8 percent, according to data from the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ). In the first eight months of this year, 39,259 people were employed in seasonal jobs from the HZZ registry, and there was a reported need for 35,192 seasonal workers.

For comparison, throughout the entire year of 2015, 41,467 seasonal workers were employed, and employers expressed a need for 29,132 seasonal workers.

The greatest demand for seasonal employment was in tourism and hospitality – in the first eight months, 22,028 people were seasonally employed in this sector, and a need for 23,794 was expressed. Retail ranked second, where 4,805 people found seasonal work this year, and employers in this sector expressed a need for a total of 5,496 ‘seasonal workers’. The HZZ emphasizes that in the first eight months of this year, the most sought-after positions were waiters, salespeople, housekeepers, cooks, cleaners, kitchen workers, assistant cooks, assistant waiters, and receptionists. During this period, 5,834 waiters and waitresses, 3,429 salespeople, 3,203 cooks, 3,177 housekeepers, 2,915 assistant cooks, 2,779 cleaners, 2,055 kitchen workers, 1,859 assistant waiters, and 1,101 receptionists were employed for seasonal needs.

In administrative and auxiliary service activities, 3,135 people were seasonally employed in the first eight months of this year, 1,891 in the manufacturing industry, 1,189 in agriculture, forestry, and fishing, and 823 seasonal workers in construction.

Data from the HZZ on seasonal employment in the first eight months of this year also show that the highest number of seasonal workers was employed in coastal counties – 9,591 in Split-Dalmatia, 3,849 in Dubrovnik-Neretva, 3,489 in Istria, and 2,783 in Šibenik-Knin, as well as in two Slavonian counties – 2,672 people found seasonal work in Osijek-Baranja, and 2,624 seasonal workers were employed in Vukovar-Srijem.

Outside their place of residence, 13,889 people were employed in seasonal jobs by the end of August this year, mainly for the needs of the tourist season – in tourism and hospitality and retail, 10,694 people or 77 percent of the total number found seasonal work outside their place. The HZZ also notes that these are mainly individuals who went to seasonal jobs in tourist destinations from Slavonia, specifically from Osijek-Baranja, Vukovar-Srijem, and Brod-Posavina counties.