An interview with Croatian National Television

Skills mismatch and austerity measures encourage emigration - Metka Hercog discusses with Croatian National Television

During an interview with Croatian National Television, ILO's Metka Hercog discussed the recent increase in European youth unemployment and related migration flows, and how affected countries like Croatia should respond. Despite expectations that migration would stall, the crisis deeply changed the distribution of, but did not inhibit, migration flows. Countries which before the crisis received many immigrants are now turning into major sending countries. High unemployment and related emigration continue to shrink these countries' labour force, particularly among youth. Current austerity measures are one of the main reasons for high youth unemployment and an upsurge of emigration. Croatia, which is facing increased outflows of young skilled people, would benefit from rolling back the existing and announced austerity measures. Public investments in Croatia should aim for job creation at all skill levels. At the same time, ILO urges investment in training and education of young people to improve their employability and access to the labour market.