February 7 (SeeNews) - Labour demand in Croatia was 10.1% higher on the year in January, following an annual increase of 3% in December 2022, a local think-tank said on Tuesday.
“After the index rose by 4.7% in the last quarter of 2022 compared to the previous quarter, seasonally adjusted data for January 2023 point to a probable growth on a quarterly level in the first quarter of this year, although a more reliable assessment cannot be made before the data for February become available,” the Institute of Economics Zagreb (EIZ) said in a monthly report on labour demand measured by its EIZ Online Vacancy Index (OVI).
According to seasonally adjusted data, the OVI index recorded a 5.4% increase in January compared to the previous month, which is an improvement compared to December, when the index decreased by 2.5% on a monthly level.
The most sought-after occupations in January were salesperson, cook, and bookkeeper, while waiters fell to fourth place, and warehouse workers came in fifth place. The largest drop in the number of job advertisements in absolute terms on an annual level in January was recorded for software programmers and construction workers, while the highest increase was recorded for the occupations of salesperson, bookkeeper, and nurse.
With regard to geographical distribution of jobs, the number of employment advertisements increased in all Croatian regions, with the highest increase recorded in the Northern Adriatic region, by 44.2%, most likely indicating that this year’s search for seasonal workers has started earlier than usual, the institute explained.
The share of advertisements offering permanent employment rose to 46% in January this year from 45.3% in January 2022, while the share of advertisements offering fixed-term employment edged up to 46.8% from 46.3%.