ZAGREB, 1 May (Hina) - The number of people employed in Croatian industry remained unchanged in March compared to February, but fell by 2.4% year-on-year, according to the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS), underscoring a continuing decline in the industrial workforce.

Data based on the National Classification of Activities (NKD) show that employment in manufacturing, which accounts for nearly 92% of all industrial jobs, held steady month-on-month.

In contrast, employment in mining and quarrying, representing just over 2% of total industry jobs, rose slightly by 0.1% in March compared to February. Employment in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sector, which comprises just over 6% of the industrial workforce, increased by 0.4%.

Compared with March 2024, manufacturing employment declined by 2.8%. The steepest falls were in clothing production (down 25.3%) and in the manufacture of leather and related products (down 10.9%).

Employment in the production of computers, electronic and optical products rose by 14.8%, while printing and reproduction of recorded media increased by 7.7%.

Year-on-year, employment in electricity and gas supply rose by 1.4%, and in mining and quarrying by 4.5%.

In the first quarter of 2025, total industrial employment was down 2.4% compared with the same period in 2024.

Despite the overall decline in jobs, industrial labour productivity increased by 5.8% in the first three months of 2025 compared to a year earlier.