Close to 50,000 more Croats could join the ranks of the unemployed this year, and the unemployment rate could reach 17.8 percent, according to recent predictions by Zagreb University's Faculty of Economics.

Although the experts expect a slight recovery in 2010, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) will experience a 0.7-per-cent decrease this year. There may be a slight increase of 2.2 per cent in 2011, they have said.

The experts are predicting that the increase in unemployment will cease in 2011, the Croatian daily Jutarnji List has reported.

The number of unemployed people in Croatia rose to a four-year high of 318,658 at the end of February