LABOR DEMAND IN CROATIA: ONLINE VACANCY INDEX

In this paper we describe the methodology of the development of an online vacancy index and document the current conditions, trends and the overall demand side labor market environment in Croatia. By analyzing individual job ads, we make conclusions about labor market trends across multiple dimensions: occupation, geography, level of education, and the type of contract. Results show that the constructed index is relatively precise in depicting the extent of the economic crisis in Croatia from 2008 to 2014 and that the regional labor markets differ significantly. Analyzing the highest demand by occupation since 2015 for the whole Croatia, we find that retailers, waiters, chefs, programmers and drivers are the top five occupations which points to labor market polarization. By analyzing the dynamics of the level of education, we come to the conclusion that workers of lower skills are in increasing demand. At the same time, the demand for highly educated workers is stable, while the share of job ads for secondary education has been falling significantly in the observed period. Apart from changes in the required level of education, the post-crisis labor market is characterized by the growth of non-standard types of labor contracts. The analysis of online vacancies shows the possible presence of supply and demand mismatches for certain occupations, which further suggests existence of structural unemployment in the Croatian labor market.