The Index of Job Vacancies Decreased in August by as Much as 14.2 Percent

The Index of Job Vacancies OVI in August fell by as much as 14.2 percent year-on-year, and by 10.6 percent compared to July of this year, as reported by the Economic Institute, Zagreb (EIZ).

– After a recovery in labor demand in July, the OVI index recorded a decline of as much as 14.2 percent year-on-year in August. Seasonally adjusted data confirm a decline in the index value compared to the previous month, amounting to 10.6 percent, which is a significant turnaround compared to June and July when the index was growing on a monthly basis. The cumulative decline since the end of last year amounts to 13.5 percent, with the third quarter currently in a deficit of 6.4 percent. The number of job advertisements in September will determine whether the third quarter will record an overall increase or decrease in activity – it was emphasized in the announcement on the EIZ website.

This marks the eighth consecutive month that the OVI index has recorded a year-on-year decline, although July saw the smallest decline this year, at two percent.

Mechanical engineers with the highest growth, while teachers experienced the largest drop in the ranking of the most sought-after professions

The top five most sought-after professions have remained the same over the past year, but their positions have changed. The seller remains in the position of the most sought-after profession, drivers have climbed from fifth to third place, and warehouse workers from third to second. At the same time, waiters have dropped from second to fourth, and chefs from fourth to fifth place. The largest positive contribution to the growth rate of the index in August came from job advertisements for finance employees and mechanical engineers, while the largest negative contribution came from advertisements for teachers, sellers, and waiters.

In August, teachers recorded the largest drop in the ranking of the most sought-after professions, by as much as 20 places. EIZ analysts note that this decline can be interpreted as a seasonal characteristic of the labor market – the demand for teachers significantly increased in July due to hiring before the start of the school year, while in August, after the end of this period, a natural decline in demand was recorded. On the other hand, the largest jump in the ranking of the most sought-after professions was recorded by mechanical engineers, who moved up eight places, from 22nd to 14th place, according to EIZ.

All regions recorded a decline in the number of advertisements, with eastern Croatia experiencing a drop of as much as 38 percent

In August, despite a multi-month downward trend, the share of advertisements seeking a medium level of education increased by 3.3 percentage points, while the shares of advertisements seeking low or high levels of education decreased by 0.6 and 2.7 percentage points, respectively. All levels of education had a negative contribution to the total number of advertisements in August, it was noted in the announcement.

The trend of decreasing the share of advertisements offering fixed-term employment while simultaneously increasing the share of advertisements offering indefinite employment remains pronounced, with 57.1 percent of advertisements in August offering indefinite contracts, while 36.5 percent of workers were sought with fixed-term contracts.

In August, all regions recorded a decline in the number of advertisements, led by eastern Croatia with a drop of as much as 37.9 percent, followed by northern Adriatic with 28.6 percent, southern Adriatic with 19.5 percent, and central Croatia with seven percent. Professions that had the largest negative contribution to the decline rate of the index in central Croatia were teacher, clerk, and nurse, while the largest positive contribution came from advertisements seeking employees in finance, warehouse workers, and construction workers, EIZ reported.

OVI – Online Vacancy Index is a monthly index of online job advertisements developed at the Economic Institute in collaboration with the MojPosao portal, aimed at providing timely information on the current state of labor demand.

The OVI index is compiled by simply counting the number of unique new advertisements whose application deadlines end in the month for which the index is calculated. Since only advertisements published through one portal are considered, the number of advertisements is expressed as an index (the base year is 2020).