The economy is suffering tremendously with this unprecedented coronavirus outbreak, and now that the figures for Croatian labour demand in March 2020 are available, it’s enough to make anyone concerned about the state of things.
As Adriano Milovan/Novac writes on the 2nd of April, 2020, following the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis, now being somewhat ”affectionately” known as the coronacrisis, Croatian labour demand has fallen sharply, according to the OVI index of the Zagreb Institute of Economics.
Compared to March last year, in March this year, the OVI index fell by as much as 23.3 percent, while the monthly fall was 18.5 percent when compared to just one month before, in February. The Institute of Economics points out that there has been a big decline, which, however, still cannot be compared to the economically tragic year of 2009, when the OVI index fell significantly more strongly.
“This March index reflects the disruption of social and economic activities caused by the coronavirus pandemic,” the Institute of Economics said briefly.
A particularly strong fall in March was seen in Croatian labour demand in the service sector. But in some professions, such as those in medicine, pharmaceuticals and the construction industry, there has been a significant increase in demand for work.
Viewed by region, all regions except Slavonia recorded a fall in Croatian labour demand in March 2020. Slavonia, on the other hand, had almost the same demand for work as it did in March last year, which isn’t a particularly promising statistic to go on regardless of coronavirus.
The OVI index, a monthly labour market indicator developed by the Institute of Economics and the Moj Posao (My Job) portal, is in line with official data from the Croatian Employment Service (CES), which shows that in the second half of March 2020, the number of unemployed people in Croatia increased by over 13,000, of which more than 12,000 came from having been employed.
However, part of those unemployed people did go on to find a job in March, meaning that Croatia ”welcomed” 143,454 newly unemployed people at the end of March, according to data.
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