Labour Minister: Croatian labour market has recovered from the COVID crisis

"The data for the the first 15 days of August show that we are going in the right direction. We are switching from job preservation to job creation," Aladrovic told the press while arriving at a meeting of the inner cabinet.

The minister is hopeful about retaining record high levels in employment since official statistics started to be kept 21 years ago.

In the period to come, the biggest challenge will be finding skilled manpower, said Aladrovic, adding he expects to see a rise in workers' pay.

However, the situation with the coronavirus crisis still requires caution, and some branches of the economy will continue to need grants to keep jobs, he explained.

As for August, we do not have any intensive requests from employers' associations, and a strong rebound can be perceived. A strong tourist season has positively impacted the labour market and businesses, he added.

The minister also said that the talks would soon be held with the Croatian Employers' Association and trade unions on who would be eligible for the job retention grants in August.