The Croatian Association of Employers (HUP) has urged the Ministry of Labour and Pension System and the Croatian government to reach an agreement with social partners about the number of working permits for foreigners that are to be granted for 2017.

Any delay in making this decision has a negative effect on the Croatian economy because apart from all existing problems it additionally limits possibilities for economic growth. This year many employers faced serious problems in finding a work force.

Although the number of unemployed people in Croatia is quite big, employers cannot find enough workers on the labour market with the required skills and qualifications. This problem has been present in several industries such as construction, shipbuilding, tourism and transport.

The situation of the lack of a labour force on the one hand, and the large number of unemployed on the other, is not characteristic only for Croatia. The same problem has been observed at the level of the entire European Union, where despite the number of 21.5 million unemployed, 40 percent of employers say that they cannot find adequate labour force.

''Due to the lack of the labour force numerous companies are unable to make new deals and develop their business which has negative impact on the whole economy. The only solution for now is an increased import of workers. Therefore, we require from our government to urgently find a solution for this problem in order to avoid the same situation or even worse one in 2017'', said Davor Majetic, the director of the HUP.

According to a survey carried out by HUP among its members, companies in Croatia have 5,099 job openings for which they cannot find adequate workers. At the moment the biggest problem is in the shipbuilding industry which is short 2,024 workers, followed by the construction industry (1,213 workers), tourism (885 workers), whilst the ICT industry has been indicated for some time now that they require at least 1,000 experts.