On the month, industrial output rose 1.1% in November.
In October, it fell 5.8% on the year.
Five macro-economists polled by Hina predicted that in November industrial output would decline 5.8% on the year. Their estimates ranged from five to seven per cent.
The decline is mainly due to the weakness of domestic and foreign demand.
In the first 11 months of this year, industrial output fell 5.5% on the year.
Asked for a comment, Economy Minister Ivan Vrdoljak said this was another alarming figure but that trends cannot change at once, but systematically.
He feels this is one of the last big declines and that 2013 would see positive trends in industrial output and gross domestic product.
Asked which measures he could announce to overturn the negative trends, Vrdoljak said it was necessary to define industrial policies to find out which branches were promising for investments and then stimulate them.
One of the models is to save as much of the shipbuilding industry as possible, create new potentials in it, and improve the investment climate, notably for private investments, the minister said, adding that there was a lot of potential in public investments as well, as they drove the economy.