The unemployment rate in Croatia in November was 16.1 percent, the new highest unemployment rate in the last two and a half years, which is in line with analysts' expectations.
The Central Bureau of Statistics reported on Monday that the unemploymentrate went up from 15.5 percent in October to 16.1 percent in November, thehighest unemployment rate since April 2007.
Six analysts interviewed by Hina expected the unemployment rate in Novemberto be 16.2 percent.
In mid-December, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported that around283,000 job-seekers were registered with the Employment Office at the end ofNovember, which was around 3.5 percent more than in the previous month, and21.1 percent more than in November 2008.
Analysts expect unemployment to continue growing in the months to come,mostly due to new lay-offs in the process of restructuring in the privatesector, which is buckling under the pressure of recession.
The unemployment growth trends are expected to reach their peak in the firstquarter of 2010, when the number of unemployed people could exceed 300,000.Analysts believe that the labour market could stabilise in the second half of2010.
