ZAGREB, April 30, 2020 – At the end of April there were 158,795 unemployed persons in Croatia, which is 15,300 more than in March and 27,700 more than at the end of April 2019, and this is the first time in the country’s more recent history that unemployment has increased in April, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) has said.
This is the first time in Croatia’s recent history that unemployment has increased in April on the month and the first time since 2013 that it has increased year on year in that month, the HGK said.
It recalled that April was the first whole month in which business and consumption had taken place in restricted conditions and that most of the month had been spent in quarantine, with restrictions being partially lifted only in its last week.
“In the first few days of the month, increased pressure on the employment office was evident, with the trend of the daily growth of unemployment being somewhat relieved after the government’s second set of measures designed to help save jobs,” the HGK said in a press release.
The HGK believes that as restrictions are gradually lifted, the number of people registering as unemployed will decline.
However, the higher level of unemployment will probably remain due to the absence of seasonal employment this year.
The usual downward curve in unemployment in the middle of the year will probably be a lot straighter this year mostly due to the absence of mass employment in tourism, the HGK said, adding that only 424 people were removed from the unemployment register in April to take up jobs in the accommodation and hospitality sector, whereas last year that number was 7,120.
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