Croatia’s registered unemployment rate edged down to 4.7% in February 2026, from a ten‑month high of 4.9% in January. The number of unemployed persons declined by 4.5% on the month to just under 84,000, including 44,400 women. At the same time, total employment fell by 0.6% to 1.694 million, while the labour force shrank by 0.7% to 1.778 million.
Paid employment in legal entities decreased by 0.7%, as most sectors shed jobs. The largest declines were recorded in manufacturing (-0.4%), wholesale and retail trade (-0.5%), construction (-1.1%), and public administration and defence, including compulsory social security (-0.9%). Employment growth was confined to a few sectors: education (1.2%), human health and social work (0.8%), and real estate (0.1%).
