LAST DECEMBER SAW 318,700 JOBLESS IN CROATIA

ZAGREB, Jan 20(Hina) - A total of 318,684 people were registered with the Croatian Employment Office (HZZ) at the end of December 2003, which is 0.5 percent or 1,732 people more than in November, and 13 percent or 47,478 people less than in December 2002.#L# HZZ officials have said that the number of jobless in December was higher than the number of those who found employment. A total of 22,091 jobless registered with the HZZ, a 23.9 percent increase compared to the same month of 2002, while the number of those who found employment was 20,359, reads the HZZ's monthly statistical bulletin. The number of people on the dole in December 2003 dropped by 6,900, or 9.1 percent in relation to the year before, and it now stands at 68,600, which is 21.5 percent of the total number of unemployed persons. The share of women in the unemployment structure increased from 56.3 percent in December 2002 to 58.5 percent in December last year, when 186,300 women were unemployed. People above the age of 50 account for the relatively highest share of registered unemployment (18.7 percent), followed by people aged between 20 and 24 (15.3 percent). The share of skilled and highly-skilled workers in the unemployment structure is still the highest and stands at 33.2 percent. Persons with two-year post-secondary school education and university education account for the smallest share of the unemployment structure, 3.1 and 3.5 percent respectively. In relation to December 2002, unemployment in December last year dropped in all counties, but compared to the month before, it increased in 14 out of 21 counties. The highest number of jobless was registered in Split-Dalmatia County, with 42,829 unemployed, which is a 10.8 percent drop compared to the year before. In 2003, this county took over the status of the county with the highest number of jobless from the City of Zagreb, where there were 39,573 jobless last December, a 14 percent drop compared to the year before. (Hina) rml sb