The crisis caused by the pandemic has seriously endangered the young workforce and women

The European Commission (EC) in its quarterly report on employment and social developments estimates that the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has seriously harmed young people and predicts an even higher unemployment rate in the coming months. With the coronary crisis, the income of the most vulnerable working group - young people who have just entered or are entering the uncertain drum of the labor market - has already fallen by 10 percent in Croatia.

The European Commission describes it as "an unprecedented loss of income from work." The negative impact on the labor market is also felt by the second most vulnerable group, which are women employed on a temporary basis. Unlike Croatia, in other countries the decline in income is much smaller, so in Hungary and Latvia, for example, it was less than two percent. Such differences between EU countries occur due to the different structures of their economies.

So far, Croatia has based most of its income on tourism, and it is precisely such countries that have suffered the most economically because a large part of their labor force has lost its job or part-time work. The pandemic has only exacerbated existing income inequalities, with food preparation and accommodation workers losing 20 percent of their income in this crisis; cultural and entertainment workers lost about 14 percent of their income; while in construction the losses are about nine per cent; in trade about six per cent and about five per cent in the transport and storage sector.

The European Commission's Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit pointed out that the Commission uses all available means to provide support to Member States, especially through the SURE instrument, which supports national part-time programs.

He adds that young people will be supported "in skills development and work experience, especially in areas relevant to green and digital transition" thanks to the expansion of the Youth Guarantee program. The EC states that the Croatian government's measures have more effectively protected low-paid workers from losing their income than those with middle and higher incomes.

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