ZAGREB, April 8, 2020 – The number of people registered with the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) as of Tuesday has exceeded 150,000 and over the past three weeks alone 21,649 registered as unemployed, 20,071 of whom lost their jobs.
On March 16 there were 134,717 registered as unemployed while on April 7 that number increased to 150,308, which is an increase of 15,591 or 11.6%, HZZ data forwarded to Hina on Wednesday indicates.
The HZZ notes that due to the extraordinary circumstances caused by the coronavirus epidemic, evidence was being kept on a daily basis of people registering or being erased from the unemployment register, particularly those who lost their jobs.
Data indicates that in that period 21,649 people registered as being unemployed, of whom, 20,071 had lost their jobs.
At the same time 6,314 were struck from the register, of whom 4,684 had found jobs.
According to daily data on the HZZ web site, currently there are 150,372 unemployed people and 7,994 advertised vacancies.
The HZZ informed that as of Tuesday it had received 95,211 applications from employers for support to save jobs in those activities affected by the epidemic, which encompasses 559,000 workers, and that more than HRK 700 million had been paid out in support.
The HZZ said that it planned to pay out wage support for March by April 10 for all applications submitted by midnight Tuesday.
HGK analysts estimate government’s measures should slow jobless growth
Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) analysts estimate that the first direct measures to preserve jobs, which initially envisaged aid in the amount of the minimum wage (HRK 3,250 for March), subsequently raised to HRK 4,000 for April and May, without the payment of contributions, should slow the jobless growth by enabling employers to keep more workers.
“Since HZZ data show a slowing down of the daily growth of the unemployed over the past three days, one can conclude that the adopted measures have stopped a higher unemployment growth for now. According to the latest information, 94,000 employers have requested that aid for about 550,000 employees, therefore a little over one third of all employed,” the HGK said in a press release.
More economic news can be found in the Business section.
