ZAGREB, Jan 18 (Hina) - The Croatian government does not know how to solve the problem of unemployment because it has neither a programme nor a plan of the country's economic development, Kresimir Sever, president of the Independent
Unions of Croatia, said on Thursday. The incumbent government, like the former ones, is not treating this problem seriously enough although the current unemployment rate (22.5 percent, according to the latest data) could have been anticipated ten years ago, he said. Sever believes that unemployment today is primarily a structural problem. As many as 93 percent of 378,544 unemployed have up to secondary school qualifications and it will be difficult for them to find a job in the long run. Persons with higher and high education level account for the smallest part of the jobless and they find jobs with least problems, he said. Sever believes the educ
ZAGREB, Jan 18 (Hina) - The Croatian government does not know how to
solve the problem of unemployment because it has neither a
programme nor a plan of the country's economic development,
Kresimir Sever, president of the Independent Unions of Croatia,
said on Thursday.
The incumbent government, like the former ones, is not treating
this problem seriously enough although the current unemployment
rate (22.5 percent, according to the latest data) could have been
anticipated ten years ago, he said.
Sever believes that unemployment today is primarily a structural
problem. As many as 93 percent of 378,544 unemployed have up to
secondary school qualifications and it will be difficult for them
to find a job in the long run.
Persons with higher and high education level account for the
smallest part of the jobless and they find jobs with least problems,
he said.
Sever believes the education system is to be blamed for the
structure of the unemployed because it educates people without
heeding the real needs of the economy.
According to the Croatian Employment Bureau, 118,032 persons found
jobs during 2000 but this does not mean the number of newly-created
jobs was the same. Some of the newly-employed found their jobs
because other workers had to retire and some found employment
abroad.
According to Sever, the number of newly-created jobs is by one half
lower tan the number of the newly-employed, amounting to below
60,000.
Unemployment can be reduced more significantly only by
restructuring Croatia's entire economy, Sever believes. Croatia
should make use of the closeness of the European market and the
potential of the domestic technology, he adds.
The government should provide financial support for the programmes
of the Croatian Employment Bureau and create conditions so that the
growth of the GDP rate exceeds the envisaged four to five percent as
low growth rates mean higher unemployment rates, Sever said.
(hina) rml