Serbia’s technology employment market is seeing a marked shift in the balance between employers and candidates, with remote vacancies declining while the number of applications per advertised position has increased. Fully remote jobs represented 26% of Serbian IT vacancies in the first eight months of 2026, compared with 40% in both 2024 and 2025. Over the same period, office-based positions accounted for 42% of advertised jobs, up from 32% in 2025, while hybrid roles increased to 32% from 28%.
Applications Per Vacancy Increase
Competition among candidates has also intensified. IT vacancies received an average of 64 applications per position between January and August 2026, compared with 48 in 2025 and 41 in 2024. Office-based positions attracted the highest number of applications, averaging 76 candidates per vacancy. Hybrid roles received an average of 57 applications, while fully remote positions recorded 56.
The changes mark a shift from the labour-market conditions during and immediately after the pandemic, when remote employment became a significant recruitment mechanism and companies competed strongly for developers and other technology specialists.
Technology Roles Remain Unevenly Distributed
The availability of remote work remains relatively high in areas including software development, artificial intelligence, DevOps, Python development, automated testing, and data and business intelligence. Competition for experienced specialists in these fields remains stronger, creating a distinction between highly specialised positions and the broader technology job market, where candidate availability has increased. The changing distribution of vacancies also affects workplace arrangements. Employers can increasingly seek office attendance while continuing to attract substantial pools of candidates.
Impact on Employers and Technology Workers
The shift in hiring conditions could also affect demand for office space in Belgrade, Novi Sad and other technology centres if the return to office-based employment continues. At the same time, reduced availability of remote positions could limit an advantage previously enjoyed by IT professionals living outside Serbia’s largest cities, who could access technology jobs without relocating.
Higher application numbers may also give employers greater choice when negotiating compensation, benefits and workplace arrangements. The change does not necessarily indicate broad salary reductions, but it can reduce candidates’ negotiating leverage in positions where the available labour pool has expanded.
Remote Hiring and International Competition
Serbian technology companies have previously competed with foreign employers recruiting local developers remotely. Remote employment enabled experienced engineers to pursue international salaries while remaining in Serbia, increasing competitive pressure on domestic employers. A decline in remote hiring could reduce some of that pressure, although experienced Serbian specialists continue to have access to international employment opportunities.
For companies, the changing market creates scope to structure teams around office-based and hybrid working models while potentially gaining greater control over labour costs. For employees, the market is becoming more selective. Salary growth, overall hiring volumes and demand for junior and mid-level technology workers will provide further indicators of how the labour market develops if application numbers continue to rise while vacancies remain subdued.
