In the first six months of 2025, a decrease in job advertisements was recorded, but the most sought-after are still workers in the fields of trade, production, services and crafts, IT, and hospitality.
In the first half of 2025, according to the website Jobs Infostud, there was a decrease in the total number job advertisement, but employers' interest in hiring workers in certain sectors is still present.
A total of 31.891 ads were published on the site, which is 17 percent less compared to the same period last year, when there were 38.349.
"This decline shows that employers are a bit more cautious in hiring, but at the same time they need new staff in areas that have been the most attractive so far," Miloš Turinski from the Infostud company told "Vreme".
Most jobs are still offered in the fields of trade, production, services and crafts, IT, and hospitality.
"These activities have been among the most represented for a long time, and regardless of the overall lower number of advertisements, there was still the highest demand for workers in them," explains Turinski.
Who are the most wanted candidates?
Candidates with a secondary education - salespeople, production workers, drivers, warehouse workers, salespeople, administrative workers, cooks, waiters and telephone operators - are most in demand among employers.
"In the advertisements for these jobs, the average salaries ranged from about 70.000 dinars for salespeople and waiters, to over 100.000 dinars for cooks and drivers. Commercial workers were most often offered an average of about 88.000 dinars, sales advisors 92.000, and telephone operators about 84.000 dinars. Warehouse workers and production workers could expect, on average, a little more than 74.000 dinars, while administrative workers could earn around 77.000 dinars", explains Turinski.
Above-average salaries for trades
As he adds, there is still a pronounced lack of labor in the service and craft sectors.
During the first half of 2025, bricklayers, auto body workers, mechanics, plumbers, hairdressers, locksmiths, carpenters, bakers, and beauticians were most in demand, according to Infostud data.
In an attempt to secure workers for these jobs, employers often offered above-average wages.
Thus, bricklayers could earn on average 185.000 dinars, tinsmiths 162.000, and mechanics around 135.000 dinars.
Plumbers could expect around 116.000, and other craftsmen - such as locksmiths, painters, metal turners or bakers between 85.000 and 95.000 dinars.
"And these amounts represent the average salaries that could be seen in the ads, and indicate that employers are ready to offer better conditions in order to find skilled workers in these fields," says Turinski.
Declining jobs for young people and people with disabilities
When it comes to the employment of young people and people with disabilities, the data show a slight decrease compared to the previous year.
The number of ads open to young people was 7.007, which is a decrease of 15 percent compared to the same period in 2024.
"The decrease in the number of ads for people with disabilities is even more pronounced, which in the first half of the year was 1.621, that is, 26 percent less than last year," explains Turinski.
What do state statistics say?
According to data from the Labor Force Survey of the Republic Institute of Statistics, in the first quarter of 2025, the number of employed persons was 2.887.100, the number of unemployed was 289.400, while the number of people outside the labor force was 2.438.100.
Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, the number of employed persons increased by 15.400, while the number of unemployed persons decreased by 9.700, as well as the number of people outside the labor force, by 37.600.
The employment rate increased by 0,5 percentage points and amounted to 51,4 percent, while the unemployment rate decreased by 0,3 pp and amounted to 9,1 percent. The rate of the population outside the labor force was 43,4 percent, which represents a decrease of 0,4 p. P.
Compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, there was a decrease in the number of employed persons by 7.800, a decrease in the population outside the labor force by 24.100, and an increase in the number of unemployed by 16.300. The unemployment rate increased by 0,5 percentage points, the rate of the population outside the labor force decreased by 0,3 percentage points, while the employment rate remained unchanged, according to the data of the RSO.
Citizens could face new price increases in the coming months, partly due to the consequences of last year's administrative restriction of prices and trade margins.
Davor Matsuri's assets have been frozen. What is owned by the owner of "Alta banka", as well as numerous other businesses
Farmers welcomed autumn sowing without the second installment of subsidies for plant production, after four years of poor yields and rising costs. Agro-economic analysts warn that the government's technical mandate cannot be an excuse for the state not fulfilling its obligations
Is it legal for "Srbijagas" to shut off gas to households where 130 people live because their neighbor did not pay his debt?
How did Ivan Bošnjak and Stojan Vujko from the "Millennium Team" reach the very top of the most powerful business people in Serbia in ten years?
At the moment when the institutions of the Republic are destroyed, when Vučić's octopus is still alive, when people are disgusted by the injustice and the stench left behind by the Essenes regime, we have, as Machiavelli said, only civic virtue as the fuel with which we can return to the beginning
The four independent members of REM are an example of perseverance and civic responsibility. Rodoljub Šabić even, upon leaving the premises of REM, after the sentencing of the Informer, experienced that the Essenes insulted him, hit him with their hands and feet. But that too will soon be over
Vučić pardoned the batterers and Dijana Hrkalović. The election winners should abolish the sultan's power that allows one man to run afoul of the entire judicial system
Interview: Branko Stamenković, public prosecutor of the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office
A black picture and the breakdown of the rule of law subscribeThe archive of the weekly Vreme includes all our digital editions, since the very beginning of our work. All issues can be downloaded in PDF format, by purchasing the digital edition, or you can read all available texts from the selected issue.
See all
