Serbia’s labour market posted a stable unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2026, although total employment declined from a year earlier, highlighting contrasting trends between labour market indicators and workforce participation.
The unemployment rate stood at 8.9% in Q1 2026, unchanged from Q4 2025 and slightly lower than 9.1% in Q1 2025. Despite the stable headline figure, the number of employed persons fell by 1.8% year-on-year, with declines recorded among employees, self-employed workers and unpaid family workers.
The labour force in the first quarter comprised 2.836 million employed persons, 276,300 unemployed persons, and 2.479 million people outside the labour force.
Employment Data Contrast With Wage and Consumption Trends
The employment figures differed from broader indicators showing stronger wage growth and household consumption during the same period.
The data indicate that labour market conditions combined stable unemployment with lower overall employment, producing a different pattern from developments in earnings and domestic demand.
Youth Unemployment Remains Elevated
Youth unemployment reached 23.1% in the first quarter, while long-term unemployment stood at 3.3%.
The labour market continued to display regional variation. Higher-value service industries, information technology, professional services and administrative employment remained concentrated in Belgrade and other larger urban centres, while smaller industrial regions faced different labour market conditions.
Hiring Outlook Focuses on Construction and Manufacturing
The baseline outlook for 2026 projects the unemployment rate to remain within a range of 8.5% to 9.2%, with limited improvement expected unless hiring strengthens in the construction and manufacturing sectors.
Employment growth for the full year is projected to range between -0.5% and +0.5%, while wage growth is expected to continue exceeding employment growth.
Labour Availability Shapes Investment Decisions
The labour market data indicate that workforce availability, skills development and employee retention remain significant considerations for investment decisions.
Industrial park development outside Belgrade is linked to factors including commuting patterns, vocational education, housing availability, transport connections and competition from public-sector employment. Service-sector employers continue to face labour cost pressures in occupations including information technology, engineering, accounting, logistics management and technical sales.
