First Release

Year: LXIII.
Zagreb, 28 October 2026
RAD-2026-2-6/3
ISSN 1334-0557

PERSONS IN PAID EMPLOYMENT, BY SEX AND BY COUNTIES, THIRD QUARTER 2026

Data on persons in employment in legal entities, by counties, were obtained by processing data from the JOPPD form. The processing was performed according to the predominant NKD 2025 activity and place of permanent/temporary residence. Therefore, the data by activities are not comparable with the monthly data published so far.

In September 2026, the largest number of persons in employment was in the City of Zagreb, 379 600, which accounted for 21.5% of the total number of persons in employment in the Republic of Croatia. The lowest number of persons in employment was in the County of Lika-Senj, 19 367, which accounted for 1.1% of the total number of persons in employment in the Republic of Croatia. The largest number of employed women was in the City of Zagreb, 186 144, which accounted for 22.6%, and the lowest in the County of Lika-Senj, 8 706, which accounted for 1.1% of the total number of employed women in the Republic of Croatia.

In September 2026 compared to September 2025, the number of persons in employment in legal entities increased only in the County of Slavonski Brod-Posavina, by 0.2%, whereas it decreased in 20 counties, with the largest decrease being recorded in the County of Lika-Senj and in the City of Zagreb, of 2.0% in each. In the same period, the number of employed women in legal entities increased in seven counties, with the largest increase being recorded in the counties of Požega-Slavonia and Slavonski Brod-Posavina, of 0.8% in each, whereas it decreased in 12 counties, with the largest decrease being recorded in County of Lika-Senj, of 1.7%. The number of persons in employment in legal entities remained the same in the counties of Sisak-Moslavina and Istria.

For the period from July to September 2026, compared to the same period of the previous year, the number of persons in employment in legal entities decreased in all counties, with the largest decrease being recorded in the County of Lika-Senj, of 2.8%. The number of employed women increased in two counties: by 0.7% in the County of Požega-Slavonia and by 0.1% in the County of Slavonski Brod-Posavina. A decrease in the number of employed women was recorded in 18 counties, ranging from 0.1% in the counties of Sisak-Moslavina and Istria to 1.7% in the County of Lika-Senj and the City of Zagreb. The number of employed women remained the same in the County of Split-Dalmatia.

The highest registered unemployment rate in September 2026 was recorded in the County of Virovitica-Podravina, of 7.9%, which was 4.5 percentage points higher than the registered unemployment rate in the Republic of Croatia. The lowest one was recorded in the County of Istria, of 1.1%, which was 2.3 percentage points lower than the registered unemployment rate in the Republic of Croatia. The highest registered unemployment rate for women was recorded in the County of Virovitica-Podravina, of 9.2%, which was 5.4 percentage points higher than the registered unemployment rate for women in the Republic of Croatia. The lowest one was recorded in the County of Istria, of 1.3%, which was 2.5 percentage points lower than the registered unemployment rate for women in the Republic of Croatia.

Detailed data by activities can be downloaded from the link Statistics in Line.

1 LABOUR FORCE ACCORDING TO ADMINISTRATIVE SOURCES, BY COUNTIES AND BY SEX, 2026
County Active population (labour force)1) Total persons in employment1)2) Unemployed persons Registered unemployment rate, %1)
VII VIII IX VII VIII IX VII VIII IX VII VIII IX
Republic of Croatia 1 828 435 1 840 420 1 829 483 1 766 371 1 777 224 1 766 888  62 064  63 196  62 595 3,4 3,4 3,4
Women  858 366  861 901  855 324  824 856  827 769  822 401  33 510  34 132  32 923 3,9 4,0 3,8
Zagreb  151 658  152 597  152 635  147 668  148 452  148 566  3 990  4 145  4 069 2,6 2,7 2,7
Women  68 225  68 482  68 501  66 102  66 268  66 383  2 123  2 214  2 118 3,1 3,2 3,1
Krapina-Zagorje  55 858  55 930  55 917  54 792  54 805  54 866  1 066  1 125  1 051 1,9 2,0 1,9
Women  25 060  25 092  24 989  24 499  24 502  24 476   561   590   513 2,2 2,4 2,1
Sisak-Moslavina  57 735  57 991  57 579  54 668  54 867  54 518  3 067  3 124  3 061 5,3 5,4 5,3
Women  26 358  26 360  26 209  24 747  24 704  24 603  1 611  1 656  1 606 6,1 6,3 6,1
Karlovac   47 056  47 109  47 053  45 926  45 991  45 983  1 130  1 118  1 070 2,4 2,4 2,3
Women  21 766  21 751  21 706  21 155  21 155  21 159   611   596   547 2,8 2,7 2,5
Varaždin   73 437  73 720  73 662  71 766  71 959  71 941  1 671  1 761  1 721 2,3 2,4 2,3
Women  33 615  33 581  33 509  32 711  32 635  32 628   904   946   881 2,7 2,8 2,6
Koprivnica-Križevci   41 938  42 075  41 959  40 894  40 979  41 012  1 044  1 096   947 2,5 2,6 2,3
Women  18 999  19 025  18 978  18 460  18 464  18 468   539   561   510 2,8 2,9 2,7
Bjelovar-Bilogora   40 010  40 129  40 059  38 659  38 664  38 636  1 351  1 465  1 423 3,4 3,7 3,6
Women  18 425  18 379  18 384  17 715  17 624  17 669   710   755   715 3,9 4,1 3,9
Primorje-Gorski Kotar  133 015  134 281  132 869  129 489  130 700  129 205  3 526  3 581  3 664 2,7 2,7 2,8
Women  63 126  63 873  63 123  61 208  61 917  61 171  1 918  1 956  1 952 3,0 3,1 3,1
Lika-Senj  20 045  20 456  20 040  19 381  19 794  19 367   664   662   673 3,3 3,2 3,4
Women  9 107  9 397  9 025  8 771  9 067  8 706   336   330   319 3,7 3,5 3,5
Virovitica-Podravina  27 227  27 535  27 519  24 929  25 265  25 340  2 298  2 270  2 179 8,4 8,2 7,9
Women  12 446  12 586  12 539  11 211  11 374  11 388  1 235  1 212  1 151 9,9 9,6 9,2
Požega-Slavonia  24 633  24 603  24 522  23 526  23 518  23 455  1 107  1 085  1 067 4,5 4,4 4,4
Women  11 295  11 232  11 164  10 749  10 688  10 653   546   544   511 4,8 4,8 4,6
Slavonski Brod-Posavina  53 885  54 217  54 299  50 448  50 680  50 738  3 437  3 537  3 561 6,4 6,5 6,6
Women  23 084  23 111  23 106  21 131  21 088  21 104  1 953  2 023  2 002 8,5 8,8 8,7
Zadar  77 653  78 390  76 802  75 680  76 437  74 772  1 973  1 953  2 030 2,5 2,5 2,6
Women  36 664  37 015  36 067  35 638  35 980  35 022  1 026  1 035  1 045 2,8 2,8 2,9
Osijek-Baranja  110 500  110 697  110 543  102 494  102 772  102 829  8 006  7 925  7 714 7,2 7,2 7,0
Women  51 995  51 974  51 701  47 432  47 419  47 349  4 563  4 555  4 352 8,8 8,8 8,4
Šibenik-Knin  43 246  44 032  43 414  41 527  42 306  41 481  1 719  1 726  1 933 4,0 3,9 4,5
Women  20 324  20 686  20 436  19 502  19 867  19 493   822   819   943 4,0 4,0 4,6
Vukovar-Srijem  55 842  56 293  56 225  52 280  52 647  52 623  3 562  3 646  3 602 6,4 6,5 6,4
Women  25 498  25 633  25 597  23 425  23 510  23 518  2 073  2 123  2 079 8,1 8,3 8,1
Split-Dalmatia  205 512  207 341  204 206  196 254  198 053  194 931  9 258  9 288  9 275 4,5 4,5 4,5
Women  98 948  99 296  97 512  93 946  94 295  92 777  5 002  5 001  4 735 5,1 5,0 4,9
Istria  115 010  115 935  113 964  113 771  114 700  112 670  1 239  1 235  1 294 1,1 1,1 1,1
Women  53 557  53 833  52 881  52 876  53 171  52 217   681   662   664 1,3 1,2 1,3
Dubrovnik-Neretva  61 973  62 677  61 896  60 161  60 784  60 063  1 812  1 893  1 833 2,9 3,0 3,0
Women  28 692  28 982  28 528  27 668  27 918  27 550  1 024  1 064   978 3,6 3,7 3,4
Međimurje  45 377  45 493  45 211  43 920  43 969  43 752  1 457  1 524  1 459 3,2 3,3 3,2
Women  20 666  20 683  20 538  19 882  19 862  19 772   784   821   766 3,8 4,0 3,7
City of Zagreb  386 251  388 414  388 569  377 564  379 377  379 600  8 687  9 037  8 969 2,2 2,3 2,3
Women  190 352  190 791  190 680  185 864  186 122  186 144  4 488  4 669  4 536 2,4 2,4 2,4

1) Provisional data.
2) Data on non-residents are not presented. See Notes on Methodology.

2 PERSONS IN PAID EMPLOYMENT IN LEGAL ENTITIES, BY COUNTIES AND BY SEX, 2026
County Persons in paid employment in legal entities1)2) Indices1)
VII VIII IX VII − IX VII 2026
VII 2025		 VIII 2026
VIII 2025		 IX 2026
IX 2025		 VII − IX 2026
VII − IX 2025
Republic of Croatia 1 508 052 1 519 807 1 517 847 1 515 235 97,8 98,5 98,9 98,4
Women  717 455  720 901  719 733  719 363 98,7 99,4 99,7 99,2
Zagreb  133 238  134 059  134 154  133 817 99,0 99,6 99,9 99,5
Women  60 120  60 310  60 422  60 284 98,9 99,6 100,1 99,5
Krapina-Zagorje  47 300  47 345  47 395  47 347 98,4 98,9 99,3 98,9
Women  21 810  21 815  21 787  21 804 99,3 99,8 100,1 99,7
Sisak-Moslavina  47 599  47 800  47 426  47 608 98,1 99,0 98,9 98,7
Women  21 855  21 809  21 699  21 788 99,6 100,0 100,0 99,9
Karlovac   40 012  40 115  40 117  40 081 98,0 98,6 99,0 98,5
Women  18 415  18 436  18 450  18 434 98,6 99,1 99,6 99,1
Varaždin   62 613  62 788  62 726  62 709 96,9 97,5 98,2 97,5
Women  28 941  28 870  28 824  28 878 99,0 99,2 99,5 99,2
Koprivnica-Križevci   34 986  35 077  35 088  35 050 97,4 98,0 99,1 98,1
Women  16 042  16 061  16 065  16 056 99,1 99,7 100,5 99,7
Bjelovar-Bilogora   33 053  33 034  33 057  33 048 98,1 98,4 98,9 98,5
Women  15 409  15 308  15 394  15 370 99,0 98,9 99,8 99,3
Primorje-Gorski Kotar  107 481  108 894  108 758  108 378 97,6 98,4 98,8 98,2
Women  52 209  52 999  52 929  52 712 98,4 99,5 99,9 99,3
Lika-Senj  15 741  16 242  16 211  16 065 96,0 97,7 98,0 97,2
Women  7 220  7 544  7 397  7 387 96,6 99,9 98,3 98,3
Virovitica-Podravina  19 774  20 114  20 195  20 028 96,4 98,5 99,0 98,0
Women  9 181  9 340  9 381  9 301 97,6 100,0 100,4 99,4
Požega-Slavonia  19 719  19 733  19 692  19 715 98,3 98,8 99,1 98,7
Women  9 323  9 264  9 241  9 276 100,6 100,6 100,8 100,7
Slavonski Brod-Posavina  42 364  42 567  42 655  42 529 98,8 99,5 100,2 99,5
Women  17 899  17 849  17 888  17 879 99,7 99,9 100,8 100,1
Zadar  59 765  60 633  60 537  60 312 98,0 99,0 99,2 98,7
Women  29 181  29 561  29 366  29 369 99,2 100,3 99,9 99,8
Osijek-Baranja  88 270  88 547  88 577  88 465 97,8 98,4 98,8 98,3
Women  41 518  41 512  41 436  41 489 98,8 99,5 99,6 99,3
Šibenik-Knin  32 431  33 269  33 182  32 961 96,8 98,6 98,9 98,1
Women  15 855  16 265  16 262  16 127 97,1 99,1 99,7 98,6
Vukovar-Srijem  43 264  43 623  43 628  43 505 97,7 99,0 99,3 98,7
Women  19 883  19 968  20 001  19 951 98,5 99,6 99,9 99,3
Split-Dalmatia  159 148  161 153  160 270  160 190 98,4 99,5 99,4 99,1
Women  78 829  79 336  78 953  79 039 99,5 100,2 100,3 100,0
Istria  89 812  90 891  90 522  90 408 99,1 99,6 99,7 99,5
Women  43 080  43 499  43 303  43 294 99,8 100,0 100,0 99,9
Dubrovnik-Neretva  48 722  49 387  49 188  49 099 99,6 99,6 99,5 99,6
Women  23 348  23 596  23 478  23 474 100,0 99,7 99,6 99,8
Međimurje  39 494  39 578  39 362  39 478 98,2 98,4 99,3 98,6
Women  17 986  17 977  17 899  17 954 98,1 98,7 99,3 98,7
City of Zagreb  342 692  344 453  344 567  343 904 96,5 97,4 98,0 97,3
Women  169 187  169 443  169 407  169 346 97,8 98,3 98,8 98,3
Non-residents   574   505   540   540 81,8 74,4 80,6 78,9
Women   164   139   151   151 72,2 61,8 68,3 67,5

1) Provisional data.
2) Activity sections U (Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use) and V (Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies) as well as their divisions are not presented in this First Release since they were not covered by the survey.

NOTES ON METHODOLOGY

Since January 2026, statistical data are observed, processed and presented according to the National Classification of Activities, 2025 version (NKD 2025). The classification entered into force on 1 January 2025 (NN, No. 47/24). Its content and structure are completely harmonised with the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Union (NACE Rev. 2.1). Its implementation ensures quality international comparability of statistical data.

In order to calculate the indices, the 2025 data were converted from NKD 2007 activities to NKD 2025 activities using the macro method of conversion.

The National Classification of Activities 2025 – NKD 2025 has a different structure compared to the NKD 2007 and a more detailed overview of the differences by sections between the new and the existing classification is described in the document Differences between NKD 2007 and NKD 2025.

Data sources

The total number of persons in employment includes persons employed in legal entities, in trades and crafts and free lances, as well as insured persons – private farmers.

Data on persons in employment in legal entities were gathered by processing the data from the Report on Income, Income Tax and Surtax as well as Contributions for Mandatory Insurances (JOPPD form), which has been in effect since 1 January 2014.

All persons or entities that are the payers of income for which the income tax regulations prescribe the obligation of accounting and paying deduction tax are under the obligation to submit the JOPPD form.

Data on persons in employment in crafts and trades and free lances are processed according to the records on pension insurance beneficiaries obtained from the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute.

The Croatian Pension Insurance Institute provides data on employed insured persons − private farmers.

Data on the number of unemployed persons are obtained from the Croatian Employment Service.

Coverage and comparability

The survey on persons in paid employment in legal entities includes all persons who have signed a work contract, regardless of the type of work contract and whether they work full-time or less than full-time.

Non-residents are persons employed in legal entities on the territory of the Republic of Croatia who do not have permanent/temporary residence in the Republic of Croatia.

The survey on persons in crafts and trades and free lances includes owners and employees registered with the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute.

Data are presented according to the predominant, main activity of NKD 2025, while the monthly data published so far were presented according to the "pure" activity. This means that the processing, in addition to the main activity, was also performed according to secondary activities. Therefore, the data by activities are not comparable with the monthly data published so far.

Data on counties are presented according to the place of permanent/temporary residence by the territorial constitution in accordance with the Act on the Territories of Counties, Towns and Municipalities in the Republic of Croatia (NN, Nos 86/06, 125/06, 16/07, 95/08, 46/10, 145/10, 37/13, 44/13, 45/13 and 110/15).

Definitions

Persons in paid employment are all persons who have signed a work contract with an employer for a fixed or an unspecified period of time, irrespective of the type of ownership and of whether they work full-time or less than full-time.

Registered unemployment rate is calculated as a ratio of the number of unemployed persons to the total active population (labour force).

Abbreviations  
NKD 2007 National Classification of Activities, 2007 version
NKD 2025 National Classification of Activities, 2025 version
NN Narodne novine, official gazette of the Republic of Croatia

 

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