The number of unemployed is lower than last year, which continues the multi-year decline in unemployment, says the director of the National Employment Service, Zoran Martinović.
“The labor force survey that was published for the first quarter of this year shows that the employment rate increased, the unemployment rate decreased for the same quarter of this year, the labor force survey recorded an increase in the number of employees by about 31,600 persons, on the other hand, the unemployment rate, which at the moment 10.1 percent, about 0.8 percentage points lower compared to the first quarter of 2022,” Martinović told Tanjug.
Martinović added that the unemployment rate has been below 10 percent or slightly above 10 percent for a long time, regardless of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which, according to him, affected economic trends.
According to the data of the National Health Service, engineers in the field of information technology are currently the most sought after on the labor market in Serbia.
“Programmers, construction engineers, mechanical engineers, pharmacists, doctors with specializations, so there is a kind of higher demand, in some parts and a deficit, but of course there is also a deficit in the field of profiles with secondary education, such as various types of construction workers, masons, carpenters, CNC machine operators, welders, nurses, drivers, storekeepers, sellers, tourism workers, catering workers are also wanted,” explained Martinović.
When asked how many foreign workers there are in Serbia and in which areas they are most often employed, Martinović stated that around 23,000 work permits were issued this year, and that foreigners are mostly employed in the field of construction.
“Most of them come from the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China, Turkey, India, Cuba, but there are also some from the countries of the region, such as North Macedonia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, they are mostly employed and engaged in the field of construction, where there is a deficit of jobs,” said Martinović.
On the occasion of the cycle of public competitions for employment, self-employment, training and professional development of the unemployed, he said that there was a great interest from employers, unemployed persons and young people.
He stated that the self-employment program has been completed, as well as that decisions have been prepared for the inclusion of around 4,000 people who want to start their own business.
“Among them we have about 100 people with disabilities, a large number of people of Roma nationality, that is, those of the harder-to-employ categories who want to start their own business,” said Martinović.
According to Martinović, the National Employment Service has prepared various programs for young people, such as professional internships, internships, the “My First Salary” program, as well as programs for those who are passive on the labor market, such as retraining, acquiring practical knowledge, and a basic functional training program.
Commenting on the “Youth Guarantee” IPA project, Martinović stated that it was made official by signing a direct grant from the EU, which is worth 5,500,000 million euros.
“Those funds will soon be available, but most of the activities will be carried out from the beginning of next year. Our intention is to include around 4,500 young people in our three pilot branches, of which around 1,200 will be included in direct financial incentives,” he pointed out.
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