Huge Need of Workers in EU’s New Trending Summer Destination

Croatia's coast is one of Europe's most popular holiday destinations and is expected to attract millions this summer.

SchengenVisaInfo.com reported that the growing number of tourists in the tourism industry, which represents around 20% of the economy of the country, could lead to a shortage of workers.

Statistics on work permits indicate that after relying on workers from the locality for nearly 32 years, more employers will be needed to fill this gap.

"Croatia alone cannot provide enough labour to maintain tourism as its main industry, and it is in a situation where it clearly needs the arrival of labour from abroad. There are no indications that this trend is going to change," Boris Vujcic, governor of the Central Bank noted for Bloomberg Linea.

Not chronologically, but by joining the Schengen zone and adopting the euro as the currency of choice. The Schengen area and the switch to the single currency were responsible for the increase in tourism, not chronologically.

Croatia's unemployment rate is expected to reach its lowest level in 22 years, and the local population will be declining.

Croatian employers hire workers from neighbouring Balkan nations to meet the demand.

The number of permits issued to non-EU workers will reach 180,000 in 2023. This is a significant increase from 2015, when only 2,700 permits for these workers were granted. Zarko Kasic, Secretary of State of the Interior Ministry said that in this case the percentage of foreign workers would be higher than 10%.

Croatian law will be changed this year to help address the labour shortage, particularly for non-EU citizens. The Croatian government is expected to change the laws this year, especially for non-EU workers.

A recent article in Euractiv states that Croatia will have 1.6 million employed people and 1.2 million retirees by the year 2022. The ratio between pensions and jobs is very low, one to 1.3. There are still tens thousands of unfilled positions.

Some 40 professions are available for direct importation. These include teachers, nurses and IT specialists, as well as waiters, cooks, construction workers and line cooks.

 

Source: schengenvisainfo.com