NUMBER OF CRO JOBLESS AND PENSIONERS EQUALS NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

ZAGREB, Feb 15 (Hina) - The number of employed persons in Croatia decreased while the unemployment rate reached high 20.8 percent at the end of 1999. Such trends led to the situation that the number of jobless and retirees was level with the number of employees. According to the National Statistical office, there were 1,304,540 workers last December. #L# At the same time the number of those on the dole came to 341,730. According to data from November last year, 953,493 people received pensions (it covered all kinds of retirement income - disability pension, family pension and old-age pension). In addition, the Croatian Institute for the Pension Insurance (HZMO) is paying over 34,000 pensions to users former republics which made up the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) and users abroad. Employment in December fell by 0.7 percent as against November. The number of employees with legal entities such as companies, firms, institutions, funds, associations, organisations and its branches dropped by 3.7 percent in 1999 as against 1998. One interesting data that only significant increase in the number of employees (two percent rise) was registered last year in the state administration and defence with 122,369 employees in December. The biggest drop by 9.8 percent in the number of employed persons was in hotels and restaurant. Last December saw just 34,780 workers in this segment of economy. An unfavourable situations occurred in the processing industry where the number of workers fell by 5.6 percent last year. It reflected the tendency of lessening the share of the manufacturing industry in Croatia's overall economy. There were 253,530 workers in the processing industry last December. (hina) ms