At the end of October, 304,479 people were registered with the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ), 5.2 percent more than in the previous month and 11.4 percent more than in October 2009.
The rise in unemployment is common at this time of the year due to the seasonal character of tourist and supporting services, as evidenced by the fact that most newly-registered job-seekers came from the tourism sector and registered with the HZZ upon the expiry of their fixed-term employment contracts, the HZZ said.
Nevertheless, unemployment growth has slowed down in relation to 2009. Annual unemployment growth in August 2009 was 14.4 percent and in August this year it was 12.9 percent. In September 2009, unemployment growth was 16.6 percent and in September this year it was 11.7 percent, and in October 2009 it was 19.6 percent and this October 11.4 percent.
In October this year, 33,571 people were added to the HZZ register, 14.6 percent more than in the previous month, and 6.2 percent more than in October 2009.
The highest number of job-seekers in October was reported in the City of Zagreb (39,575 or 13 percent of all job- seekers), followed by Split County (37,674 or 12.4 percent) and Osijek County (32,980 or 10.8 percent).
Lika-Senj County had the lowest unemployment figures (3,220 unemployed or 1.1 percent of all job-seekers).
