Economic expectations for Croatia in May have improved further, especially in the service sector, in line with developments in the European Union and the euro area, a report by the European Commission showed on Friday.

Croatia’s Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) rose in May by 3.1 points, to 106.6 points.

The expectations of business leaders in the service sector improved the most, and the services confidence indicator jumped by 12.1 points from April.

Consumer confidence increased by 4.3 points, retail trade confidence went up by 1.9 and industry confidence by 1.1 points. On the other hand, the construction confidence indicator increased by a mere 0.2 points.

Business leaders signalled a need fur further employment, reflected in the Employment Expectations Indicator (EEI) going up by 1.6 points in May, to 105.5 points.

Expectations in Europe improve further

Economic climate indicators in the EU and the euro area again rose sharply in May, by four points each compared with April. ESI reached 113.9 points in the EU and 114.5 points in the euro area.