Fewer Jobs, Busier Shops: The Numbers Waiting for Serbia’s Next Government
The latest official releases show strong consumer spending and trade, but registered employment slipping year on year.
A run of releases from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (RZS) at the end of October gives the incoming government a mixed picture: households are spending more, trade is growing, but employment has started to edge down.
Spending and trade
Retail turnover in September was 8.8% higher than a year earlier in constant prices, and 13.6% higher in current prices. Industrial production rose 3.2% year on year in September. Serbia’s external trade in January–September reached about €59.4 billion, up 6.7% in euro terms.
Jobs and pay
Registered employment in the third quarter was 2,346,398 people, 19,347 fewer than a year earlier. The average net salary in August was RSD 117,282, while the median was RSD 93,325, meaning half of employees earned less than that.
What comes next
The October consumer price index is due on 12 November. In September inflation jumped to 4.1%, and the National Bank of Serbia kept its key rate at 5.75%. The RZS release calendar also listed a flash estimate of third-quarter GDP for 2 November; we will report the figure once it is published by the office.
Sources
This report is written by The Serbian Review from the sources listed above; facts are attributed where they could not be independently verified. Spotted an error? See our Corrections Policy.
