According to the latest data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, the total registered unemployment rate in Croatia stood at 5.1% in December 2024. Additionally, based on the most recent wage data for November 2024, average net earnings amounted to EUR 1,336, reflecting a real increase of 1.5% compared to October and a 10% YoY rise.
Last Tuesday, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics published data on employment and unemployment in Croatia for December 2024. According to the report, the number of employed persons totaled 1.71 million, reflecting a slight decrease of 0.1% compared to November, but an annual increase of 2.1%. For the full year 2024, the total number of employed persons increased by 1.9% compared to 2023.
Considering both the total number of employed and unemployed persons, the registered unemployment rate in December 2024 stood at 5.1%, marking a 1.4 p.p. decrease compared to December 2023.
Total persons in employment and registered unemployment rate (2019 – 2024)
Source: DZS, InterCapital Research
Moving on to the latest available data for November 2024 regarding average monthly wages in Croatia, average monthly net earnings amounted to EUR 1,366, representing a real increase of 1.5% compared to October and a 10% increase compared to the same month last year.
Meanwhile, average monthly gross earnings reached EUR 1,900, reflecting a real increase of 2% MoM and a 10.1% annual rise.
For the first 11 months of 2024, average net earnings as a percentage of gross earnings stood at 72.4%, remaining unchanged from the same period in 2023. However, this percentage may decline further in the coming months. The decline could be attributed to gross wages rising to keep up with inflation, while taxes and deductions are not adjusting at the same rate. Additionally, many temporary tax relief measures introduced during the pandemic period have already been eliminated, and those who have not are expected to be phased out soon.
Average monthly gross and net earnings (Jan 2019 – Nov 2024, EUR)
Source: DZS, InterCapital Research
On the other hand, median net wages amounted to EUR 1,162, marking a 0.2% monthly increase and a significant 12.8% rise YoY. This reflects that wages in lower-paid jobs increased more substantially than those in higher-paid positions.
However, the highest wage increases were recorded in the public sector, where the impact of rising wages has been somewhat offset by inflation arising from elevated public spending.
Average annual median wage growth rate (%)
Source: DZS, InterCapital Research
