Serbia’s business services sector recorded a 9.7% year-on-year increase in turnover in Q1 2026, reflecting expansion across transport, communications and professional service industries.
The sector structure was led by transport and storage, accounting for 31.3% of total activity, followed by information and communications at 27.7%, professional, scientific, innovation and technical activities at 16.3%, and administrative and support services at 11.4%.
Professional and ICT services lead sector growth
The strongest expansion was recorded in higher-value segments closely associated with nearshoring and exportable knowledge services.
Professional, scientific, innovation and technical activities grew by 21.2% year-on-year, while information and communications increased by 13.5% during the quarter.
These categories include engineering services, consulting, software development, design, technical advisory work, business process services, research, legal and accounting services, and other scalable professional functions.
Shift toward exportable and technical service capacity
The structure of Serbia’s services economy increasingly reflects demand from industries including manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, finance, e-commerce and corporate administration.
Service activities expanding within this ecosystem include engineering supervision, environmental compliance services, CBAM documentation processes, software integration, grid analysis, technical design work, logistics control operations and financial outsourcing services.
These activities are positioned as part of a broader shift toward exportable professional services integrated with regional and cross-border business operations.
Outlook for business services expansion in 2026
Projections for 2026 indicate expected business services turnover growth of 8% to 11% in nominal terms. Within this forecast, information and communications services are expected to expand by 10% to 13%, while professional and technical services are projected to grow by 12% to 16%. Labour availability and wage pressures are identified as key constraints, while exportable expertise remains a central driver of sector expansion.
Services sector positioned as regional operating platform
The data indicate that Serbia’s services economy is increasingly functioning as a regional operating base for professional services linked to energy transition, infrastructure development, industrial compliance, software systems, logistics coordination and financial administration.
Sector participants are increasingly positioned to move beyond labour-hour delivery toward bundled services combining regulatory knowledge, engineering capability, process design and regional execution capacity integrated across multiple industries.
