ZAGREB, September 4, 2018 – Labour and Pension System Minister Marko Pavić said on Tuesday that never before had so much money been allocated for employment as in the term of the present government, adding that 2.5 billion kuna was being invested in employment programmes this year.
“Never in the history of Croatia has more money been allocated for employment, because this year we are investing 2.5 billion kuna in employment programmes, of which 1.6 billion kuna in active policy measures and 900 million kuna in specialised programmes,” Pavić said in the County Chamber of Commerce in the southern coastal city of Split where he presented active employment policy measures to local employers. He added that these funds would be directed into the private sector.
Croatia has invested more than 4.5 billion kuna in employment programmes in the last two years, “which, as we can see, is producing results,” the minister said. “Unemployment is at a record low, with some 134,000 people currently out of work, while employment is growing, so that there are 71,000 employed people more than last year,” Pavić said. He added that the current unemployment rate in Croatia was 8.6 percent, compared to the EU average rate of 7.1 percent.
Pavić said that there were a lot of job opportunities in Croatia, but “the biggest problem in Croatia is to find qualified labour.” He said he was glad to see that average wages were growing, as well as wages in the tourism and construction sectors.
