The Republic Bureau of Statistics published data on the Serbian economy. These are the data for October 2021, which concern tourist turnover, industrial production, retail trade of goods, foreign trade, unemployment, as well as the GDP for the third quarter.
The real growth of the gross domestic product in the third quarter of 2021, in relation to the same period of the previous year, amounted to 7.7 percent, which is a growth of 1.6 percent compared to the previous quarter, according to the seasonally adjusted data series, the data show.
By activities in the third quarter of 2021, compared to the same period last year, significant real growth in gross value added was recorded in the wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles, transport and storage and accommodation and food services (17 percent), construction (15.8 percent), the sector of professional, scientific, innovation and technical activities and administrative and auxiliary service activities (13.7 percent).
Industrial production increased by 0.9 percent
Industrial production in Serbia increased in October by 0.9 percent compared to the same month in 2020, while compared to last year’s average it is higher by 13.6 percent.
In the period January-October of the current year, Serbian industry, according to published data, recorded a growth of 6.5 percent on an annual level.
Year-on-year growth in production in October was recorded in mining, by as much as 39.5 percent, while a decline was registered in the manufacturing industry by 0.2 percent and in the sector of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply by 10.5 percent.
According to statistical indicators, the production of intermediate products, except energy, increased by 11.5 percent on an annual level last month. In contrast, a decline was recorded in the production of non-durable consumer goods, by 0.7 percent compared to the same month last year, then in the production of capital goods by 0.8 percent, in energy production by 4.5 percent and in the production of durable goods for consumer goods to broad consumption by 26.2 percent.
Decline in the number of unemployed
The number of employees in Serbia in the third quarter of this year was 2,924,500, and the number of unemployed was 341,500, which means that the employment rate in the third quarter of 2021 was 50 percent, and unemployment was 10.5 percent, according to the Republic Bureau of Statistics.
According to the Labor Force Survey, compared to the second quarter, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.6 percentage points, while the employment rate increased by 1.7 percentage points.
Total employment in that period increased by 93,400, with formal employment being higher by 36,500 and informal employment by 57,000, according to the SBS.
The largest increase in the number of formally employed was recorded in construction (25,400), in manufacturing (15,300) and wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles (12,400).
SBS notes that the increase in informal employment is the largest increase in the number of employees in agriculture, hunting and forestry (23,300) and construction (15,300).
It is added that in the third quarter of 2021, there were a total of 431,700 informally employed, of which 243,900 were in agriculture and 187,700 outside agriculture.
The highest employment growth is in the population with secondary vocational education and ages 55 to 64.
The employment rate of men in the third quarter of 2021 compared to the second quarter of the same year increased by 2.6 percentage points and amounted to 58.4 percent, while the growth of the employment rate of women was only 0.9 percentage points, so the employment rate of women was 42.2 percent.
The largest decrease in the number of unemployed of 16,300 was recorded in the regions of Šumadija and Western Serbia, while in the regions of Southern and Eastern Serbia the number of unemployed increased by 9,300.
The employment rate of young people aged 15 to 24 increased in the third quarter of this year by 1.4 percentage points and amounted to 27.3 percent, while at the same time the rate of unemployed young population increased by 0.9 percentage points and amounted to 23.1 percent.
By regions, only the Belgrade region recorded a decrease in the number of unemployed young people by 2,600, while in the regions of Šumadija and Western Serbia, the number of unemployed young people increased by 4,200, according to the SSO.
According to the Labor Force Survey, observed year on year, the employment rate increased by 2.2 percentage points, the unemployment rate by 0.7 percentage points, while the rate of the population outside the labor force decreased by 2.8 percentage points.
Such year-on-year movements of the basic contingents of the population on the labor market cannot be interpreted outside the context of changes caused by the Covid crisis during 2020, when individuals who could not look for work or were unable to start work due to antiCovid measures were considered inactive and not the unemployed, so the increase in the unemployment rate from 9.8 percent in 2020 to 10.5 percent in 2021 can be considered as an indicator of recovery, because the rate returns to pre-crisis levels, concludes the SBS, Sputnik News reports.
