Number of unemployed drops for first time below 170,000

The number of unemployed people in Croatia has for the first time dropped below 170,000, but even more encouraging is the fact that at the end of May there were 55,000 more people in work than two years ago, Labour and Pension System Minister Marko Pavic told a press conference on Thursday.

The number of job seekers registered with the Croatian Employment Service on Thursday was 169,949.

Pavic was speaking to the press after a Cabinet meeting at which the plan for the implementation of the Youth Guarantee scheme for 2017-2018 was adopted.

The measures provided under the Youth Guarantee scheme cost 1.6 billion kuna, of which 600 million will come from the state budget and the rest from EU funds. Pavic said at the meeting that youth unemployment remained one of the biggest problems in Croatia although the youth unemployment rate had been reduced from over 50% in 2013 to around 30% last year.

One of the measures that is currently being implemented is worth 1.5 billion kuna, and Pavic said that other measures would be prepared soon, including one aimed at vulnerable groups on the labour market, such as elderly and people with disabilities.

Pavic said that 3,094 people had taken advantage of the measure for professional training in the first five months of this year, 2,100 fewer than last year. He added that the number of subsidies for employment in the private sector had increased from 700 to 1,700.

Text: Hina

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