Croatia Jobless Rate Hits 10-Month High
2026-02-20 10:38
By
Jereli Escobar
1 min. read
Croatia’s registered unemployment rate rose to 4.9% in January 2026 from 4.6% in the previous month, marking the highest level since March 2025.
The number of unemployed persons surged by 6.4% month-on-month to a ten-month high of 87.9 thousand.
At the same time, total employment declined by 0.8% to 1.70 million, while the labor force edged down by 0.5% to 1.79 million.
Paid employment in legal entities fell by 0.7%, mainly due to declines in accommodation and food service activities (-11%), wholesale and retail trade (-2.5%), electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (-1%), and agriculture, forestry and fishing (-0.9%).
In contrast, employment increased in financial and insurance activities (1.3%), electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (1%), mining and quarrying (0.6%), and construction (0.3%).
For comparison, the unemployment rate in January of the previous year was higher at 5.4%.