First Release

Year: LXIII.
Zagreb, 28 April 2026
RAD-2026-2-6/1
ISSN 1334-0557

PERSONS IN PAID EMPLOYMENT, BY SEX AND BY COUNTIES,
FIRST QUARTER OF 2026

Since January 2026, data are presented according to the National Classification of Activities – NKD 2025 (NN, No. 47/24), and the information on the application of the new classification is provided in the Notes on Methodology.

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 March 2026, the largest number of persons in employment was in the City of Zagreb, 379 373, which accounted for 22.3% 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, 17 488, which accounted for 1.0% 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, 186 237, which accounted for 23.6% of the total number of employed women in the Republic of Croatia, and the lowest in the County of Lika-Senj, 7 817, which accounted for 1.0% of the total number of employed women in the Republic of Croatia.

In March 2026 compared to March 2025, the number of persons in employment in legal entities decreased in 20 counties, with the largest decrease recorded being 2.9% in both the county of Varaždin and the county of Koprivnica-Križevci. The number of employed women in legal entities increased in three counties, with the largest increase recorded being 1.3% in the County of Slavonski Brod-Posavina.

For the period from January to March 2026 compared to the same period of the previous year, an increase in the number of persons in employment in legal entities was recorded only in the County of Slavonski Brod-Posavina, of 0.5%. The number of persons in employment decreased in other counties, with the largest decrease recorded being 2.8% in the County of Varaždin.

The number of employed women increased in two counties: the County of Lika-Senj, by 0.3%, and the County of Slavonski Brod-Posavina, by 1.6%. A decrease in the number of employed women was recorded in 19 counties, ranging from 0.1% in the County of Požega-Slavonia to 1.8% in the County of Virovitica-Podravina.

The highest registered unemployment rate in March 2026 was recorded in the County of Osijek-Baranja, of 8.6%, which was 4.3 percentage points higher than the registered unemployment rate in the Republic of Croatia. The lowest one was recorded in the County of Istria, of 1.9%, which was 2.4 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 Osijek-Baranja, of 10.3%, 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 2.2%, which was 2.7 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)
I II III I II III I II III I II III
Republic of Croatia 1 791 778 1 777 927 1 774 188 1 703 843 1 693 935 1 698 257  87 935  83 992  75 931 4,9 4,7 4,3
Women  838 674  833 380  830 805  792 300  788 948  790 480  46 374  44 432  40 325 5,5 5,3 4,9
Zagreb  151 533  151 392  151 584  147 141  147 161  147 616  4 392  4 231  3 968 2,9 2,8 2,6
Women  68 205  68 156  68 281  65 966  66 025  66 275  2 239  2 131  2 006 3,3 3,1 2,9
Krapina-Zagorje  56 234  55 953  55 804  54 749  54 599  54 598  1 485  1 354  1 206 2,6 2,4 2,2
Women  25 149  25 083  24 994  24 407  24 408  24 391   742   675   603 3,0 2,7 2,4
Sisak-Moslavina  58 673  58 027  57 802  54 609  54 156  54 256  4 064  3 871  3 546 6,9 6,7 6,1
Women  26 629  26 439  26 273  24 527  24 417  24 408  2 102  2 022  1 865 7,9 7,6 7,1
Karlovac   47 234  46 965  46 869  45 548  45 341  45 466  1 686  1 624  1 403 3,6 3,5 3,0
Women  21 911  21 740  21 711  20 953  20 815  20 921   958   925   790 4,4 4,3 3,6
Varaždin   74 430  74 257  74 048  72 312  72 246  72 220  2 118  2 011  1 828 2,8 2,7 2,5
Women  33 852  33 748  33 727  32 739  32 693  32 749  1 113  1 055   978 3,3 3,1 2,9
Koprivnica-Križevci   42 247  41 838  41 703  40 825  40 567  40 622  1 422  1 271  1 081 3,4 3,0 2,6
Women  19 076  18 892  18 870  18 388  18 282  18 338   688   610   532 3,6 3,2 2,8
Bjelovar-Bilogora   40 201  39 796  39 819  38 161  37 913  38 156  2 040  1 883  1 663 5,1 4,7 4,2
Women  18 557  18 373  18 324  17 503  17 413  17 455  1 054   960   869 5,7 5,2 4,7
Primorje-Gorski Kotar  126 632  125 738  125 470  121 935  121 249  121 459  4 697  4 489  4 011 3,7 3,6 3,2
Women  60 104  59 617  59 337  57 580  57 195  57 217  2 524  2 422  2 120 4,2 4,1 3,6
Lika-Senj  18 604  18 539  18 377  17 412  17 461  17 488  1 192  1 078   889 6,4 5,8 4,8
Women  8 393  8 357  8 255  7 787  7 824  7 817   606   533   438 7,2 6,4 5,3
Virovitica-Podravina  27 632  27 361  27 599  24 957  24 838  25 253  2 675  2 523  2 346 9,7 9,2 8,5
Women  12 665  12 600  12 653  11 256  11 234  11 370  1 409  1 366  1 283 11,1 10,8 10,1
Požega-Slavonia  24 648  24 210  24 275  23 135  22 787  22 989  1 513  1 423  1 286 6,1 5,9 5,3
Women  11 224  11 023  11 093  10 433  10 283  10 428   791   740   665 7,0 6,7 6,0
Slavonski Brod-Posavina  54 112  53 784  53 693  50 086  49 807  49 872  4 026  3 977  3 821 7,4 7,4 7,1
Women  23 150  23 062  22 966  20 877  20 797  20 793  2 273  2 265  2 173 9,8 9,8 9,5
Zadar  71 843  71 216  70 892  68 200  67 761  67 949  3 643  3 455  2 943 5,1 4,9 4,2
Women  33 945  33 582  33 362  31 907  31 623  31 738  2 038  1 959  1 624 6,0 5,8 4,9
Osijek-Baranja  112 715  111 634  111 002  101 716  101 205  101 479  10 999  10 429  9 523 9,8 9,3 8,6
Women  53 100  52 722  52 420  46 954  46 872  47 005  6 146  5 850  5 415 11,6 11,1 10,3
Šibenik-Knin  40 809  40 454  40 057  37 442  37 205  37 132  3 367  3 249  2 925 8,3 8,0 7,3
Women  19 133  18 985  18 783  17 528  17 432  17 397  1 605  1 553  1 386 8,4 8,2 7,4
Vukovar-Srijem  55 820  55 836  55 784  51 418  51 500  51 784  4 402  4 336  4 000 7,9 7,8 7,2
Women  25 200  25 434  25 476  22 818  23 070  23 233  2 382  2 364  2 243 9,5 9,3 8,8
Split-Dalmatia  193 313  190 766  190 331  178 323  176 498  177 415  14 990  14 268  12 916 7,8 7,5 6,8
Women  92 765  91 697  91 289  85 002  84 259  84 552  7 763  7 438  6 737 8,4 8,1 7,4
Istria  102 171  100 765  100 284  99 469  98 229  98 391  2 702  2 536  1 893 2,6 2,5 1,9
Women  47 100  46 564  46 151  45 659  45 203  45 135  1 441  1 361  1 016 3,1 2,9 2,2
Dubrovnik-Neretva  56 272  54 782  54 278  51 624  50 283  50 495  4 648  4 499  3 783 8,3 8,2 7,0
Women  26 088  25 315  25 009  23 677  22 967  23 013  2 411  2 348  1 996 9,2 9,3 8,0
Međimurje  45 419  45 239  45 262  43 618  43 575  43 757  1 801  1 664  1 505 4,0 3,7 3,3
Women  20 797  20 742  20 687  19 856  19 867  19 882   941   875   805 4,5 4,2 3,9
City of Zagreb  390 742  388 894  388 768  380 669  379 073  379 373  10 073  9 821  9 395 2,6 2,5 2,4
Women  191 505  191 123  191 018  186 357  186 143  186 237  5 148  4 980  4 781 2,7 2,6 2,5

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)
I II III I ‒ III I 2026
I 2025		 II 2026
II 2025		 III 2026
III 2025		 I ‒ III 2026
I ‒ III 2025
Republic of Croatia 1 476 487 1 466 239 1 468 415 1 470 380 98,6 98,1 98,2 98,3
Women  699 055  695 668  696 339  697 021 99,1 99,0 99,1 99,1
Zagreb  132 886  132 923  133 306  133 038 99,8 99,6 99,6 99,7
Women  60 042  60 107  60 324  60 158 99,4 99,4 99,6 99,5
Krapina-Zagorje  47 378  47 230  47 212  47 273 98,8 98,4 98,3 98,5
Women  21 729  21 740  21 724  21 731 99,2 99,5 99,3 99,3
Sisak-Moslavina  47 540  47 083  47 182  47 268 98,6 97,7 97,8 98,0
Women  21 627  21 528  21 526  21 560 99,4 99,1 99,1 99,2
Karlovac   39 745  39 521  39 647  39 638 98,4 98,0 98,2 98,2
Women  18 309  18 157  18 242  18 236 99,4 98,8 99,2 99,1
Varaždin   63 184  63 130  63 104  63 139 97,3 97,2 97,1 97,2
Women  28 938  28 914  28 980  28 944 98,2 98,4 98,9 98,5
Koprivnica-Križevci   35 012  34 742  34 762  34 839 97,8 97,2 97,1 97,3
Women  15 977  15 861  15 905  15 914 99,1 98,7 98,8 98,8
Bjelovar-Bilogora   32 638  32 397  32 607  32 547 97,8 97,6 98,1 97,9
Women  15 227  15 146  15 166  15 180 99,6 99,5 99,5 99,5
Primorje-Gorski Kotar  103 960  103 217  103 160  103 446 98,7 98,3 98,2 98,4
Women  50 439  50 088  49 985  50 171 99,5 99,1 99,0 99,2
Lika-Senj  14 580  14 619  14 598  14 599 99,9 99,3 99,1 99,5
Women  6 641  6 687  6 656  6 661 101,2 100,1 99,7 100,3
Virovitica-Podravina  19 865  19 749  20 101  19 905 97,0 96,9 98,5 97,4
Women  9 234  9 223  9 345  9 267 97,2 98,0 99,3 98,2
Požega-Slavonia  19 485  19 115  19 271  19 290 99,4 98,0 98,7 98,7
Women  9 060  8 898  9 023  8 994 100,4 98,9 100,4 99,9
Slavonski Brod-Posavina  42 253  41 932  41 961  42 049 101,1 100,3 100,1 100,5
Women  17 779  17 675  17 655  17 703 101,9 101,6 101,3 101,6
Zadar  56 205  55 703  55 739  55 882 99,0 98,1 98,1 98,4
Women  27 270  26 981  27 051  27 101 99,8 99,1 99,3 99,4
Osijek-Baranja  87 914  87 390  87 583  87 629 98,1 98,3 98,5 98,3
Women  41 162  41 093  41 215  41 157 98,8 99,6 99,9 99,4
Šibenik-Knin  30 795  30 488  30 263  30 515 99,4 98,9 98,3 98,9
Women  15 040  14 923  14 821  14 928 99,4 99,4 98,9 99,3
Vukovar-Srijem  42 704  42 755  42 969  42 809 98,0 98,8 99,3 98,7
Women  19 399  19 648  19 791  19 613 98,5 100,2 100,8 99,8
Split-Dalmatia  150 090  148 258  148 738  149 029 99,2 98,2 98,5 98,6
Women  74 011  73 251  73 368  73 543 99,6 98,8 99,0 99,2
Istria  80 769  79 519  79 410  79 899 99,2 98,5 98,8 98,8
Women  38 332  37 861  37 652  37 948 99,7 99,4 99,4 99,5
Dubrovnik-Neretva  43 134  41 767  41 817  42 239 99,5 98,7 99,3 99,2
Women  20 680  19 935  19 932  20 182 99,6 98,6 99,1 99,1
Međimurje  39 288  39 235  39 378  39 300 97,8 97,6 97,9 97,8
Women  17 979  17 987  18 003  17 990 98,6 98,6 98,7 98,6
City of Zagreb  346 568  344 985  345 120  345 558 97,9 97,3 97,4 97,5
Women  170 054  169 839  169 849  169 914 98,4 98,4 98,4 98,4
Non-residents   494   481   487   487 77,9 81,4 80,2 79,8
Women   126   126   126   126 59,2 64,6 65,6 63,0

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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