Minister Ćorić warns about differences in unemployment levels in the country.
Minister of Labour and Pension System Tomislav Ćorić said in Dubrovnik that there were currently 227,000 unemployed persons in Croatia, and that due to the end of the tourist season this figure would grow further. He also announced new employment measures aimed at young people and long-term unemployed, reports Večernji List on November 15, 2016.
“According to recently published data, we current have 227,000 unemployed, and this number will grow in the next days since the tourist season is coming to the end. In this context, we have discussed how to increase employment in Dubrovnik-Neretva County. In addition to existing measures, we intend to introduce some additional options which will primarily focus on the young and long-term unemployed”, said Ćorić after a meeting with Deputy County Prefect Davorko Obuljen and city and municipal mayors from Dubrovnik-Neretva County.
He said that such meetings would help him define the real needs for quotas for work permits in 2017, adding that Dubrovnik-Neretva County was a positive example in Croatia. “In this county, the unemployment rate is at 11.6 percent, but the problem is the fact that some parts of the county outside of Dubrovnik have much higher levels. We have discussed ways to increase employment in the rest of the county, particularly with a focus on funds from the European Social Fund”, said Ćorić.
Ćorić added that Dubrovnik’s economic potential should be expanded to the rest of the county. Asked about the idea that categorization of hotels would be tied to the number of permanent staff employed by each hotel, in the context of the fact that tourism is the main industry in Dubrovnik, Ćorić said that the question should be put to Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli. “One of the factors for the new categorization of hotels should be the number of permanent staff employed, but I do not know at what stage this initiative currently is and I do not know whether it is one of the priorities of Minister Cappelli. I do not know what is going on now with this”, said Ćorić.
He stressed that, at present, when “tourist season lasts three to four months”, it is not realistic to expect that owners of rentals would employ people full-time. “I am afraid it is too early for such a step. We must first proceed with initiatives to extend the season, but this is again a topic for Minister Cappelli”, he added.
Dubrovnik Mayor Andro Vlahušić said that his town employs 3,000 people from outside the county, and the meeting discussed ways how to make it easier for people in other parts of the county to come to Dubrovnik. “I am talking primarily about Metković and Ploče. The government has to support it, and Dubrovnik is willing to finance it partially”, said Vlahušić.
Deputy County Prefect Davorko Obuljen said that the meeting also touched on a number of other topics, from the employment of young people to applying to various EU funds.
