In Croatia, 22.4 thousand fewer unemployed than a year ago

At the end of January this year, the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) recorded 97,314 unemployed persons, which is 18.7 percent or 22,379 persons fewer than in January 2024, according to HZZ data.

However, compared to December of last year, the number of unemployed increased by 6.3 percent or 5,778 persons.

During January this year, 16,920 persons were newly registered as unemployed, which is 2.5 percent more than in January last year. Of these, 79.5 percent or 13,443 persons came from employment. In the previous month, 346 persons entered the unemployment register from regular schooling (two percent) and 3,131 persons from inactivity (18.5 percent).

According to HZZ data, 11,142 persons exited the unemployment register, which is 5.3 percent less than in January 2024. Of these, 7,564 persons were employed, with 7,140 persons or 94.4 percent based on establishing an employment relationship and 424 persons or 5.6 percent based on other business activities.

The highest employment is in education, industry, and trade

Registered employment based on an employment relationship was most frequently realized in education – 1,183 persons or 16.6 percent. This is followed by the manufacturing industry with 1,025 persons or 14.4 percent and wholesale and retail trade with 1,021 persons or 14.3 percent.

In January, 3,578 persons were removed from the unemployment register for other reasons, e.g., leaving the labor force (retirement, enrollment in regular schooling), non-compliance with legal provisions (not actively seeking work, unavailable for work), deregistration from the register, etc.

By counties, the leading regions in employment were Split-Dalmatia County (1,265 persons or 17.7 percent of the total number of employed based on establishing an employment relationship), Osijek-Baranja County (808 persons or 11.3 percent), and the City of Zagreb (787 persons or 11 percent).

The largest absolute number of registered unemployed persons was recorded in Split-Dalmatia County 17,214 (or 17.7 percent of the total in Croatia), Osijek-Baranja County (12,252 or 12.6 percent), and the City of Zagreb (10,661 or 11 percent), while the smallest was in Lika-Senj County (1,269 or 1.3 percent).

In January this year, 25,169 persons or 25.9 percent of the total number of unemployed received cash benefits. The number of cash benefit recipients decreased compared to the same month in 2024 by 3.9 percent or 1,031 persons.