Croatia and Romania carry employment growth in CEE

Today, we look at employment data in the EU and the region. In annual terms, employment has been growing continuously, yet the pace of growth has been slowing in the EU in a constant manner over the last two years. In the EU employment increased by 0.8% y/y in the third quarter down from 0.9% in the previous quarter and 1.0% at the beginning of 2024. In the region, on the other hand, we have seen employment growth (CEE8 average) accelerating since mid-2023 when the employment growth bottomed out at 0.4%. Such development is driven by Croatia and Romania, where employment growth has been particularly strong in recent quarters. In Croatia it reached 6.5% in the first half of 2024. On the other hand, Poland and Slovakia have experienced employment contracting over last couple of quarters. Recent quite disappointing data on economic performance across the region suggest that employment growth is likely to slow down.