ADMINISTRATIVE OBSTACLES THAT SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES ARE FACING IN THE EMPLOYMENT AREA

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a key role in the European economy, but at the same time face much greater administrative difficulties in their business compared to large ones. Existing rigidities in the labour market have further hindered their position in creating new jobs. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to explore whether there were significant differences in the administrative burden in the field of employment between the various groups of small and medium-sized enterprises? The results show that Croatia compared to other EU countries is still rich in rigidities and has a relatively inflexible labour market. Primary research provided in Croatia included a final sample of 701 small and medium-sized enterprises. Research results showed that most SMSs (54%) consider too frequently changes in business regulations as the biggest administrative barrier in the labour market regulation. Based on the conducted research it is concluded that there are significant differences between different groups (number of employees, legal-organizational form and sector) of small and medium-sized enterprises in terms of the number of key administrative barriers to employment, which are most perceived by micro-enterprises and craftsmen who develop their activities in the tertiary sector.