Today, the Minister of Finance of Serbia, Sinisa Mali, pointed out that unemployment in Serbia is at a historical minimum of 7.3 percent.
He explained that the economic measures that were implemented contributed to the preservation of jobs and the Serbian economy, despite the difficult conditions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“I am proud of everything we have achieved, and unemployment, which is now at a historical minimum of 7.3 percent, is a confirmation that we have cleverly designed all the measures, which have proven to be extremely successful. First of all, we have managed to save our economy and labor,” Mali said.
In addition to helping the economy and citizens, Minister Mali states that he is especially proud of the “My First Salary” program, which, in his opinion, is an incentive for additional employment.
“It is a great opportunity for young people who have no work experience, and have just finished high school or college. We are investing 16 million euros in them, for a paid internship for nine months. For that job and the first work experience, they will receive 170 and 200 euros a month, respectively,” said Mali.
He stated that the economy and citizens can rely on the state, which has been proven, having in mind that Serbia has set aside about 12.5 percent of our GDP, ie about 5.8 billion euros in aid to mitigate the consequences of the corona virus.
“This support has been key to keeping full employment and keeping the economy afloat. We have proven that by conducting economic policy responsibly, we have been able to provide the assistance that was needed in these difficult times for the whole world. It is now up to companies to keep fighting and they are developing, and I can only repeat that the state is always there for its citizens,” stated the Minister of Finance.
Minister Mali explains that in conditions when the world economy is falling drastically, Serbia is keeping at an enviably good level, which gives an incentive to fight even harder and achieve the best possible results.
“All this is important for the preservation of jobs. But we are happy with the fact that in the first six months we recorded a decline in the economy of only 0.9 percent, which is an excellent result considering that developed world economies have experienced double-digit decline,” he said.
He added that it is important to improve the economy in the whole world, which mostly depends on the health segment, and with the hope that the problem with the coronavirus will be overcome soon, we hope for a quick recovery and full economic momentum from next year.
“The most important thing is that we will not have a reduction in salaries and pensions. In October, we will discuss with the International Monetary Fund, among other things, the refinement of the Swiss pension formula. And to repeat once again, regardless of the problems in the global economy, we will increase minimum wages and pensions in 2021,” concluded Mali, B92 reports.
