Over 174,000 job adverts were published in Croatia in the first half of this year. This is 2.1% less than in the same period in 2023, with demand for labour in the tourism and hospitality, sales and production sectors declining.

The analysis of the Croatian labour market conducted by Alma Career Croatia, the company behind MojPosao, shows that the biggest drop in demand for workers was in the design and art category, down 15% compared to last year, while tourism saw a 12% drop and sales and manufacturing both saw a 10% drop.

Despite the drop in demand in these sectors in the first half of this year, sales and salespeople, waiters and bartenders, cooks, warehouse workers and drivers remained the most sought-after occupations.

Continued increase in the number of foreign workers

The largest increase in job adverts was for childcare and care of the elderly, a rise of 28% compared to the first half of last year. The demand for labour in the marketing, PR and media sectors also rose by 22, as did the demand for architects, whose job advertisements increased by 22%, and the demand for human resources by 12.

Despite a slight decline in demand for labour in the Croatian labour market in the first half of this year after several years of growth, MojPosao highlights the continued increase in the number of foreign workers, a trend that has been going on for years and is in line with forecasts that their inflow and the number of work permits issued will continue to rise.

“Considering that the process of employing foreigners is mostly handled through specialised agencies for the import of foreign labour, and given the current conditions on the domestic labour market, we believe that the actual demand for labour has increased, by about 3% compared to last year,” said Igor Zonja, Director of Alma Career Region South and Alma Career Croatia.

Most vacancies advertised in Zagreb, 4% increase in permanent employment contracts

As in previous years, in the first half of this year, the city of Zagreb and Zagreb County had the highest number of vacancies, accounting for 55% of all job advertisements.

This was followed by Split-Dalmatia County with 17% of all advertised vacancies, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County with 14% of all vacancies and Istria County with 11%.

The number of permanent employment contracts also increased further, by 4% compared to 2023. In the first half of 2024, employers offered such contracts in as many as 80% of job advertisements.

The number of fixed-term employment contracts, which accounted for around 47% of all employment contracts offered, fell by 4%.

Labour market situation very favourable for jobseekers

Seven per cent of job advertisements related to seasonal workers and only 2% to students. Zonja notes that the labour market situation is currently very favourable for jobseekers and that this is prompting employers to offer permanent employment contracts in order to attract and retain good workers.

“Increasing labour turnover and the high expectations of new generations seeking stability and security are further motivating employers to adopt this practise. There is also the possibility of remote work for foreign companies, which provides additional options for talent and motivates employers to offer more attractive conditions to remain competitive in the market,” says Zonja.

He notes that employers are increasingly recognising the importance of holistic employee support. This includes competitive benefits, listening to employees’ needs, career development opportunities, as well as workplace flexibility and work-life balance support, which are critical to employee loyalty and satisfaction.