ZAGREB, April 2, 2020 – The Online Vacancy Index (OVI) for March reflects a break in social and economic activities caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with the demand for service-sector occupations falling and the demand for healthcare occupations and construction workers growing, the Zagreb Institute of Economics (EIZ) says.
Compared with March 2019, the OVI fell by 23.3%, while seasonally adjusted index values indicate an 18.5% decrease compared with the previous month.
“This is a strong decline on a monthly level, which still cannot be compared to 2009 when the OVI index registered significantly stronger declines,” the EIZ said on Thursday.
The demand for traditionally most sought-after occupations – sales persons, cooks and waiters – fell by 27%, 30% and 29% respectively compared with March 2019.
“Moreover, the majority of sought-after occupations, particularly those from the service sector, registered significant decreases,” the EIZ said, adding that the demand for hotel managers had dropped by almost 40% and for other tourism professionals by 50% compared with the previous year.
However, there was also a strong increase in the demand for certain occupations, such as those involved in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and the consequences of the March 22 earthquake in Zagreb.
Compared with March 2019, the demand for doctors and/or dentists increased by 38%, for pharmacists by 24% and for nurses by 10%. Also, the demand for bricklayers rose by 67% and for construction workers by 7%.
“However, it should be borne in mind that occupations for which there is a growing demand do not have a large share in the overall demand, as a result of which the decrease in the demand for service-sector occupations, which have a larger share, sets the overall OVI dynamics,” the EIZ said, adding that all regions recorded significant declines, except for Eastern Croatia, which had an almost identical demand for labour as in March 2019.
The OVI is a monthly index of online job advertisements developed by the EIZ in cooperation with the MojPosao job search website. It aims to provide timely information on current labour demand.
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