The Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, chaired today the session of the Council for the Coordination of Activities and Measures for the Growth of the Gross Domestic Product, at which it was concluded that the Serbian economy is accelerating and that, if it continues at the current pace of development, it can achieve the planned GDP growth of 2.5 percent this year despite the significant slowdown of the European economy and especially the economies of the countries we are most focused on.
In the second quarter, the Serbian economy recorded a growth of 1.7 percent, while in the same period the growth of the EU economy was about 0.5 percent, and the good trend from the second quarter continued in the month of July, in which the growth was 2.5 percent. it was announced from the Government of Serbia.
The construction and ICT sectors were on the rise in the second quarter, when the construction sector achieved a growth of as much as 15.1 percent, while the ICT sector had a growth of 10.1 percent. When it comes to employment growth, the fact that Serbia recorded a 2.3 percent increase in employment in the second quarter is particularly encouraging, so that the number of employees in Serbia is currently 2,364,140, ​​which is more than half a million more than in 2014.
As stated, the improvement of procedures in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš and Kragujevac have made significant steps in improving the issuance of location conditions and building permits, which additionally stimulates economic growth.
The session also discussed foreign labor and investments, given that 72,876 foreigners currently reside in Serbia with temporary permits, and in August alone, 2,692 foreigners requested work permits.
Despite the challenges at the global level, it is expected that the level of foreign direct investment will be at the level of last year, and maybe even exceed expectations. In addition to numerous challenges, indicators suggest that Serbia is successfully dealing with them and is positioning itself as a stable economic partner in the region and beyond.
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