Croatia seeks over 30,000 foreign workers, mostly needed in tourist counties

(Patria) - In the first two months, Croatian employers requested the employment of over 30,000 foreign workers, according to data from the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ).

Requests were submitted by over 4,700 employers, and positive opinions have already been approved for 22,500 workers, while rejections were given for 2,400, and 886 requests were suspended.

The highest demand for foreign workers comes from tourist counties - Istria (5,200), Split-Dalmatia (3,400), Primorje-Gorski Kotar (2,400), Dubrovnik-Neretva (1,900), and Zadar (1,400), as well as Zagreb (6,000) and Zagreb County (2,500), with Brod-Posavina County also standing out in demand (over 1,000 workers).

The fewest requests came from Požega-Slavonia County (94), while Lika-Senj, the smallest county by population, has already reported a need for 363 foreign workers.

Mostly, workers were sought for deficit occupations for which no labor market testing is required, while this procedure was necessary for almost 4,500 workers.

The dominant occupations for which workers are employed from third countries are in the construction and tourism sectors.

Almost 2,400 requests were approved for workers in building construction, 1,500 masons, and over a thousand foreigners were approved by HZZ for the jobs of cooks and assistant cooks, waiters, room attendants, and cleaners, and almost a thousand carpenters, and civil engineering workers.

In the first two months, the employment of over 400 delivery drivers and 475 truck drivers was also approved.

Data from HZZ also shows that the average highest salaries are for the jobs of cooks (887 euros) and waiters (866 euros), and electrical installers (834 euros), with these being gross salaries.