“The end of the year was marked by halved inflation, expensive loans, and economic growth. We entered this year with increased salaries in the public sector, pensions, and the minimum wage, as well as announcements of anticipated new investments. Is all of this enough to ensure economic growth that would spill over into households’ budgets?”
“Full lungs, a full house, and a full wallet, as for every year, the wishes of citizens are relatively modest for this year. Surveyed citizens desire higher salaries and a larger household budget.”
“The same wishes are sent by the head of Serbian finance. Not through columns and numbers, but in a more relaxed rhythm, online, where he garners views and likes.
“May your year be full of health, happiness, and beautiful moments, and may the state treasury be full of money, just like your wallets,” stated Minister Siniša Mali.
And it will be so, he promises. Since January, many citizens will have higher incomes in their wallets. Pensions will increase by 14.8 percent, salaries of public sector employees will rise by 10 percent, and the minimum wage by 17.8 percent.
“With this increase, the average pension will reach 390 euros, in addition to the 5.5 percent increase we had in October. Currently, our average salary is around 830-840 euros. We will fulfill the promise we made that the average salary in Serbia will reach 1,400 euros at the end of the mandate of the next government, with the average pension being 650 euros and the minimum wage 650 euros,” Mali said.
To fulfill these promises, economic growth must continue. In the previous year, inflation affected it, both globally and locally. Instead of the planned three percent, the Serbian economy grew by about 2.5 percent. Economists see the acceleration of this pace in the increase of export markets.
“We should focus on those countries and export markets that are not in stagnation or have higher economic growth rates, primarily referring to the BRICS and BRICS+ markets, especially those markets with which we have agreed upon or are in the process of negotiating bilateral trade arrangements—China, the UAE, and soon South Korea,” says Slobodan Aćimović, professor at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade.”
“The world and Serbia faced inflation last year. Compared to March when it reached a maximum of 16.2 percent, the inflation rate in our country was halved by the end of the year. Public finance creators expect it to be around three percent in the second half of the year. However, experts are less optimistic.
“It’s quite difficult to speculate on the exact percentage as it depends on many factors. The fact is that it’s on a downward trend, which we’ve seen in the last six months. Whether it will be 5, 4, or six percent, no one can be certain. Still, if we follow trends, and usually rely on what the ECB does, we can’t deny that interest rates have peaked and we expect a decrease,” assessed Nikola Stakić, a professor at the University of Belgrade.
While we wait for our wallets to be filled, economists note that money is becoming more expensive. Both domestic and global experts agree that the era of cheap money has passed.
“Many activities have changed in recent years, and I would say that a new political and economic world is emerging,” concluded Aćimović.”
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