There were 156,378 jobless people in Croatia at the end of February, according to figures by the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ), or by 1.5% fewer than in January and 18% fewer on the year.

HZZ figures show that at the end of February there were 2,456 fewer jobless people registered on the month or 34,382 fewer y-on-y.

This is the first time in four months that the number of people seeking work fell on the month, which can be attributed to the usual seasonal trends on the Croatian labour market.

Daily data indicates that there are currently 152,826 jobseekers and 24,021 advertised vacancies.

In February, 35,795 or 22.9% of those out of work were on the dole. The number of beneficiaries of allowances dropped by 10.5% on the year or by 4,186 people.