Domestic employers are intensively searching for workers to fill vacant positions along the coast and inland.

Alongside foreign workers already present, Croatian students have emerged as a desirable and sought-after group on the domestic labor market. As net.hr has learned, demand for young workers is reaching historic highs as companies compete by offering better working conditions.

Growth in minimum wages and thousands of open positions

During the past year, more than 30,000 students gained work experience through the Zagreb Student Center, which currently cooperates with 12,500 employers and represents 44,000 young people. Alongside the growth of the minimum net salary in the country, the minimum student hourly wage saw a strong increase, rising from 2.39 euros in 2018 to the current 6.56 euros, which represents a total increase of 175%.

Average earnings now amount to around 8 euros per hour, and employers are most often looking for staff to work in retail, hospitality, marketing, administration, and logistics.

An opportunity to gain first real work experience

The experiences of young workers confirm this situation on the market, as many are already choosing jobs in luxury transport, tourist agencies, or promotions, while the rest will begin their search at the start of July after the exam period ends. The scale of this demand is reported by RTL Danas, relaying statements from event organization agencies that annually engage more than 1,500 students, for whom this is very often their first real contact with the business world. All of this data clearly indicates that younger generations today have an exceptionally wide choice of positions and the possibility of selecting the conditions that suit them best financially.

New hiring dynamics on the domestic market

Seasonal work in Croatia has undergone a complete transformation, as students have gone from occasional help to a key factor without which it is impossible to carry the tourist season. The significant rise in labor costs and the enormous number of open positions show that the domestic market increasingly values the flexibility and motivation of young workers. This development ensures employers the much-needed workforce, while at the same time providing young people with financial independence and the acquisition of valuable experience before the official start of their professional careers.