According to official statistics, the highest paid occupations are in the field of programming and air transport, where they earn an average of 184,339 and 150,873 dinars, respectively.
Ten years ago, employers in Serbia needed economic, mechanical and medical technicians, graduate economists in general economics, banking and finance, doctors of medicine, and primary school teachers. From that list in 2021, only the sellers remained, who were then, and are still the most sought after at the bureau. For 2,803 workers, according to the National Employment Service, employers expressed the highest needs, and among those in demand were carpenters, armourers, nurses, locksmiths …
The situation is, from a statistical point of view, crystal clear. Today, employers are looking for masters more than educated people, but according to the latest data from the Republic Statistical Office (SORS), the highest paid occupations in Serbia are still in the field of programming and air transport, while employees in wood processing earn the least.
Thus, in November 2021, which is the latest statistic of the SSO, the first place was convincingly held by programmers (computer programming). They earned an average of 184,339 dinars. They are followed by employees in air traffic, whose salary averaged 150,873 dinars. Experts engaged in scientific research and development earned slightly less – 133,910 dinars. According to the SBS data, the lowest earnings were made by employees in the field of wood processing – 33,704 dinars, followed by serving and food preparation activities, with an average salary of 36,668 dinars. In November 2021, employees in travel agencies and tour operators earned 39,062 dinars. When it comes to the public sector, the highest average salary, of 82,413 dinars, was detected in public state-owned companies, and the lowest in public local companies – 62,856 dinars.
On the international salary research platform “Pejlab”, the position of general director takes a convincing first place in terms of earnings of 335,304 dinars. He is followed by the position of leading developer in the IT field, with 221,871 dinars of monthly salary
On the other hand, on the international salary research platform “Pejlab”, which collects information on income and bonuses of employees in various positions, the position of General Manager takes a convincing first place in terms of earnings of 335,304 dinars. He is followed by the position of leading developer in the IT field, with 221,871 dinars of monthly salary, and among the highest paid are sales directors, executive and financial directors. The worst paid positions in Serbia, with 38,000 dinars, are the jobs of seamstresses, cleaners, janitors, security workers, packers…
The Serbian Chamber of Commerce points out that thanks to constant changes in the labor market, under the influence of technological progress, demographic trends and changes in the habits of workers and consumers, but also digitalization of business, demand for certain jobs is intensifying and new professions are emerging. stops. Bojan Stanić, Assistant Director of Analytics at PKS, points out that there has been an increase in employment in the IT field, which has been reflected in the growth of salaries of employed engineers and IT experts.
– The arrival of large investors, especially in the sector of production and trade, has led to the creation of new jobs in marketing, sales, development, technological processes… In the end, the health care sector is significantly different than before, and over time the need has increased and for consulting services in various fields. All these professions employ mostly highly educated professionals, who are characterized by above-average incomes, and they are the new middle economic class of the population, which is growing at a moderate pace – Stanic points out. For example, he adds, when you look at the purchase of real estate, cars, overseas tourist destinations, it is noticeable that the demand from employees in the above-mentioned areas is growing.
However, we should not forget that due to economic emigration, there are fewer and fewer craft jobs on the labor market, especially in the field of medical activities, transport, production, and construction.
– Although the salaries of health workers, specifically doctors and surgeons, have increased in recent years, they are still significantly below the average in, say, the information technology sector. According to a similar system, due to high demand, maintenance services for electrical installations and water pipes have increased significantly, so craftsmen in these areas can earn much more than highly educated experts in some areas. Thus, the market dictates the conditions and it determines which professions are more promising in terms of earnings. Once upon a time, when there were many electricians, plumbers and drivers in the country, these occupations were paid less than is the case today. Over time, the situation has changed, so lately the demand for carpenters, painters, bakers, ceramists has been growing – says Stanić.
From the point of view of personal income, however, it should be reminded of the indisputable fact, and that is that in Serbia, the median salary (in November it amounted to 51,782 dinars) is received by 50 percent of employees. This is the amount that is exactly in the middle when looking at the number of those employees who earned more or less. In order to talk about a more comfortable life of today’s middle class, economists believe that incomes should be significantly above the average consumer basket. In November 2021, it amounted to 79,865 dinars and was about 10,700 dinars higher than the average salary in Serbia. How, then, can one think that today’s middle class is similar to the one that once existed, if the median salary, which is as much as 28,000 dinars lower than the average consumer basket, is received by half of the total number of employees, and there are officially more than a million?
– The middle class used to have a much better economic and material position, which means that its members used to get apartments, live in better settlements, could afford education for their children, travel the world, learn languages​​… Earnings are not hers the only feature, but also the level of knowledge and communication, the impact on the environment … Today the situation is somewhat different, it is harder to live, although there are those who can earn well, and are not part of that class. However, this is not an easy and rewarding job because easy and fast earnings are the supreme ideal that no longer has to be conquered with the help of education and skills. People, with the help of connections, especially political ones, succeed on the social ladder literally overnight, and the state helps them in that, because it itself consists of people who easily reached diplomas and positions, without much experience and knowledge. It all affects the economy because some got rich overnight, and then gained political and economic influence, so that today they can affect our social reality – explains Ljubodrag Savić, prof. Faculty of Economics in Belgrade, emphasizing that new occupations and changes in the structure of the middle class are a consequence of a radical change in the value system and market opportunities.
– The middle class has always been a stabilizer of society, and as such, it has been lost today, not only in the economic but also in the moral sense. Today, no one thinks about the value system. There is no general, only partial interest. Now we have graduates, but without much knowledge, because why would someone study when he can easily get a job, through a relationship? Such a climate is being created. We are building a new class, a new elite, which has nothing to do with its traditional values. In fact, we are not building it, it is formed spontaneously – Prof. Savic convinced, Politika writes.
