Statistical Release

According to the Labor Force Survey, in the first quarter of 2025, the number of employed persons was 2.887.100, the number of unemployed persons 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 (p.p.) and amounted to 51.4%, while the unemployment rate decreased by 0.3 p.p. and amounted to 9.1%. The out the labor force rate was 43.4 %, reflecting 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 p.p., the out the labor force rate decreased by 0.3 p.p., while the employment rate remained unchanged.

Total rate of informal employment was 11.5%, where of the rate of informal employment in the agricultural sector was 48.1% and in non-agricultural sectors 6.0%.

(r) revised data

Table 1 Basic indicators of labour market trends of persons aged 15 and over, I quarter 2025

	Q1 2025	Changes relative to previous quarter	Changes relative to same quarter of the previous year
	%	p. p.	p. p.
Activity rate	56.6	0.3	0.4
Employment rate	51.4	0.0	0.5
Rate of informal employment (total)	11.5	-0.4	-0.6
Rate of informal employment, excl. agriculture	6.0	-0.8	-0.5
Rate of informal employment in agriculture	48.1	-0.4	-2.4
Unemployment rate	9.1	0.5	-0.3
Longterm unemployment rate	4.2	0.5	0.1
Out of labour force rate	43.4	-0.3	-0.4
NEET rate (15-24)	13.4	0.1	-0.3
NEET rate (15-29)	15.7	-0.2	0.5

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Table 2. Population aged 15 and over, by working status, I quarter 2025

	Q1 2025	Changes relative to previous quarter		Changes relative to same quarter of the previous year
	(in thousand)	(in thousand)	%	(in thousand)	%
Total population	5614.6	-15.6	-0.3	-31.9	-0.6
Active population	3176.5	8.5	0.3	5.7	0.2
Employed	2887.1	-7.8	-0.3	15.4	0.5
Formally employed	2554.5	5.1	0.2	29.9	1.2
Formally employed, excl. agriculture	2357.6	-9.1	-0.4	13.5	0.6
Formally employed in agriculture	197.0	14.3	7.8	16.6	9.2
Informally employed	332.6	-12.8	-3.7	-14.6	-4.2
Informally employed, excl. agriculture	149.9	-23.7	-13.7	-13.2	-8.1
Informally employed in agriculture	182.7	10.8	6.3	-1.4	-0.8
Unemployed	289.4	16.3	6.0	-9.7	-3.2
Out of labour force	2438.1	-24.1	-1.0	-37.6	-1.5

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	15 and more	15–24	15–64	15–74	15–89	20–64	25–64
Activity rates	56.6	32.7	73.2	62.6	56.8	78.6	81.0
Employment rates	51.4	24.8	66.2	56.9	51.7	71.3	74.3
Unemployment rates	9.1	24.1	9.4	9.2	9.1	9.2	8.3
Out of labour forse rates	43.4	67.3	26.8	37.4	43.2	21.4	19.0

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Table 4. Population aged 15 and over, by working status and sex, I quarter 2025

	Q1 2025	Changes relative to previous quarter	Changes relative to same quarter of the previous year
Total
Total population	5614.6	-15.6	-0.3	-31.9	-0.6
Active population	3176.5	8.5	0.3	5.7	0.2
Employed	2887.1	-7.8	-0.3	15.4	0.5
Unemployed	289.4	16.3	6.0	-9.7	-3.2
Out of labour force	2438.1	-24.1	-1.0	-37.6	-1.5
Male
Total population	2704.7	-7.5	-0.3	-14.6	-0.5
Active population	1728.4	6.6	0.4	12.4	0.7
Employed	1574.3	-5.6	-0.4	16.7	1.1
Unemployed	154.1	12.2	8.6	-4.3	-2.7
Out of labour force	976.3	-14.1	-1.4	-26.9	-2.7
Female
Total population	2910.0	-8.0	-0.3	-17.2	-0.6
Active population	1448.1	1.9	0.1	-6.7	-0.5
Employed	1312.8	-2.2	-0.2	-1.3	-0.1
Unemployed	135.3	4.1	3.1	-5.4	-3.8
Out of labour force	1461.8	-10.0	-0.7	-10.6	-0.7

Table 4a. Activity, employment, unemployment and population out of the labour force rates of persons aged 15 and over by sex, I quarter 2025

	Q1 2025	Changes relative to previous quarter	Changes relative to same quarter of the previous year
Total
Activity rates	56.6	0.3	0.4
Employment rates	51.4	0.0	0.5
Unemployment rates	9.1	0.5	-0.3
Out of labour forse rates	43.4	-0.3	-0.4
Male
Activity rates	63.9	0.4	0.8
Employment rates	58.2	-0.1	0.9
Unemployment rates	8.9	0.7	-0.3
Out of labour forse rates	36.1	-0.4	-0.8
Female
Activity rates	49.8	0.2	0.1
Employment rates	45.1	0.0	0.2
Unemployment rates	9.3	0.2	-0.4
Out of labour forse rates	50.2	-0.2	-0.1

Table 5. Population aged 15-24 by working status and sex, I quarter 2025

	Q1 2025	Changes relative to previous quarter	Changes relative to same quarter of the previous year
Total
Total population	671.1	-0.2	0.0	-0.2	0.0
Active population	219.5	1.2	0.5	1.6	0.7
Employed	166.5	4.4	2.7	2.0	1.2
Unemployed	52.9	-3.4	-6.0	-0.6	-1.1
Out of labour force	451.6	-1.4	-0.3	-1.8	-0.4
Male
Total population	344.2	-0.1	0.0	0.2	0.1
Active population	136.8	1.2	0.9	3.6	2.7
Employed	105.2	3.3	3.2	4.5	4.5
Unemployed	31.6	-2.2	-6.5	-0.9	-2.8
Out of labour force	207.4	-1.3	-0.6	-3.4	-1.6
Female
Total population	326.8	-0.2	-0.1	-0.6	-0.2
Active population	82.7	0.0	0.0	-2.1	-2.5
Employed	61.3	1.1	1.8	-2.5	-3.9
Unemployed	21.4	-1.1	-4.9	0.4	1.9
Out of labour force	244.2	-0.1	0.0	1.6	0.7

Table 5a. Rates of activity, employment, unemployment and population out of the labour force of persons aged 15-24 by sex, I quarter 2025

	Q1 2025	Changes relative to previous quarter	Changes relative to same quarter of the previous year
Total
Activity rates	32.7	0.2	0.2
Employment rates	24.8	0.7	0.3
Unemployment rates	24.1	-1.7	-0.4
Out of labour forse rates	67.3	-0.2	-0.2
Male
Activity rates	39.7	0.3	1.0
Employment rates	30.6	1.0	1.3
Unemployment rates	23.1	-1.8	-1.3
Out of labour forse rates	60.3	-0.3	-1.0
Female
Activity rates	25.3	0.0	-0.6
Employment rates	18.8	0.4	-0.7
Unemployment rates	25.8	-1.4	1.0
Out of labour forse rates	74.7	0.0	0.6

Table 6. Population aged 15-64 by working status and sex, I quarter 2025

	Q1 2025	Changes relative to previous quarter	Changes relative to same quarter of the previous year
Total
Total population	4121.3	-10.7	-0.3	-40.6	-1.0
Active population	3015.0	3.9	0.1	-2.9	-0.1
Employed	2730.2	-11.6	-0.4	8.3	0.3
Unemployed	284.8	15.5	5.8	-11.2	-3.8
Out of labour force	1106.4	-14.5	-1.3	-37.6	-3.3
Male
Total population	2060.0	-5.2	-0.3	-18.7	-0.9
Active population	1625.6	4.9	0.3	1.5	0.1
Employed	1473.7	-7.2	-0.5	6.7	0.5
Unemployed	152.0	12.3	8.8	-5.1	-3.2
Out of labour force	434.3	-10.2	-2.3	-20.2	-4.4
Female
Total population	2061.4	-5.4	-0.3	-21.8	-1.0
Active population	1389.3	-1.1	-0.1	-4.5	-0.3
Employed	1256.5	-4.4	-0.3	1.6	0.1
Unemployed	132.9	3.4	2.6	-6.0	-4.3
Out of labour force	672.0	-4.3	-0.6	-17.5	-2.5

Table 6a. Rates of activity, employment, unemployment and population out of the labour force of persons aged 15-64 by sex, I quarter 2025

	Q1 2025	Changes relative to previous quarter	Changes relative to same quarter of the previous year
Total
Activity rates	73.2	0.3	0.7
Employment rates	66.2	-0.2	0.8
Unemployment rates	9.4	0.5	-0.4
Out of labour forse rates	26.8	-0.3	-0.7
Male
Activity rates	78.9	0.4	0.8
Employment rates	71.5	-0.2	0.9
Unemployment rates	9.3	0.7	-0.4
Out of labour forse rates	21.1	-0.4	-0.8
Female
Activity rates	67.4	0.1	0.5
Employment rates	61.0	0.0	0.8
Unemployment rates	9.6	0.3	-0.4
Out of labour forse rates	32.6	-0.1	-0.5

Table 7. Population aged 15 and over by working status and region, I quarter 2025

	Q1 2025	Changes relative to previous quarter	Changes relative to same quarter of the previous year
Total
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	5614.6	-15.6	-0.3	-31.9	-0.6
Beogradski region	1424.5	-1.6	-0.1	-1.6	-0.1
Region Vojvodine	1466.2	-4.0	-0.3	-8.1	-0.5
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	1534.4	-4.7	-0.3	-10.3	-0.7
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	1189.5	-5.4	-0.5	-11.9	-1.0
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...	...	...
Active population
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	3176.5	8.5	0.3	5.7	0.2
Beogradski region	852.3	3.8	0.4	-2.2	-0.3
Region Vojvodine	809.2	-12.5	-1.5	-26.0	-3.1
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	877.7	22.1	2.6	35.5	4.2
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	637.3	-5.0	-0.8	-1.6	-0.3
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...	...	...
Employed
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	2887.1	-7.8	-0.3	15.4	0.5
Beogradski region	792.7	-3.1	-0.4	-6.1	-0.8
Region Vojvodine	739.4	-16.2	-2.1	-15.6	-2.1
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	802.5	27.7	3.6	37.2	4.9
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	552.5	-16.1	-2.8	-0.1	0.0
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...	...	...
Unemployed
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	289.4	16.3	6.0	-9.7	-3.2
Beogradski region	59.6	7.0	13.3	4.0	7.2
Region Vojvodine	69.7	3.6	5.4	-10.5	-13.1
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	75.2	-5.6	-6.9	-1.7	-2.2
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	84.8	11.2	15.2	-1.5	-1.7
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...	...	...
Out of labour force
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	2438.1	-24.1	-1.0	-37.6	-1.5
Beogradski region	572.2	-5.4	-0.9	0.6	0.1
Region Vojvodine	657.0	8.5	1.3	17.9	2.8
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	656.7	-26.8	-3.9	-45.8	-6.5
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	552.2	-0.4	-0.1	-10.3	-1.8
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...	...	...

Table 7a. Rates of activity, employment, unemployment and population out of the labour force aged 15 and over by region, I quarter 2025

	Q1 2025	Changes relative to previous quarter	Changes relative to same quarter of the previous year
Activity rate
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	56.6	0.3	0.4
Beogradski region	59.8	0.3	-0.1
Region Vojvodine	55.2	-0.7	-1.5
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	57.2	1.6	2.7
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	53.6	-0.2	0.4
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...
Employment rate
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	51.4	0.0	0.5
Beogradski region	55.6	-0.2	-0.4
Region Vojvodine	50.4	-1.0	-0.8
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	52.3	2.0	2.8
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	46.4	-1.2	0.4
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...
Unemployment rate
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	9.1	0.5	-0.3
Beogradski region	7.0	0.8	0.5
Region Vojvodine	8.6	0.6	-1.0
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	8.6	-0.8	-0.5
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	13.3	1.8	-0.2
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...
Outside the labour force rate
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	43.4	-0.3	-0.4
Beogradski region	40.2	-0.3	0.1
Region Vojvodine	44.8	0.7	1.5
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	42.8	-1.6	-2.7
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	46.4	0.2	-0.4
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...

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In the first quarter of 2025, 12.637 households, i.e. 28.199 persons aged 15 and over, were interviewed.

Rounding rules

The results of the Labor Force Survey are published rounded to thousands, with one decimal place. Total values (summaries) do not always agree with the sum of the individual data, given that the ratings given in statistical publications are calculated using unrounded numbers (which gives more accurate data).

Methodological notes

Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the most complex and the only internationally comparable instrument for labour trends monitoring, registering demographic and socio–economic characteristics of population aged 15 and over.

The main aim of the survey is estimating the labour force volume, i.e. employed and unemployed population, where employment relates to work in both formal and informal sector.

Additionally, LFS deals with characteristics of employment (professional status of the employed persons, their activity, occupation, rights realized at work…) and unemployment (acquired education, duration of job seeking, previous working experience…), as well as characteristics of outside the labour force population – their education, age, income source, reasons for not involving in the labour market, as well as readiness for involvement in labour market.

Persons (aged 15-89) who performed at least for one hour paid work (for cash or in kind) in the reference week, as well as persons who had an employment, but were temporarily absent from work in that week, are counted as employed persons.

Employment rate is the percentage share of employed in the total population aged 15 and over.

Informal employment is considered to be work in unregistered companies, work in registered companies without an employment contract, as well as the work of unpaid family workers.

Informal employment rate is the percentage share of informally employed in total employment.

Unemployed persons are the persons (aged 15-74) who, in the reference week, did no work for remuneration, who undertook active steps to find a job during four-week period ending with the reference week and who were able to start working in two-week time after the referent week.

Unemployment rate presents the percentage share of unemployed population in labour force (employed and unemployed).

Long-term unemployment rate is the share of individuals in the labour force (employed and unemployed) who have been unemployed for more than one year.

NEET rate – refers to share of persons aged 15 to 24 (or 15 - 29) neither employed, nor in education, training, in total population of that age.

Active population (labour force) includes all employed and unemployed persons.

Activity rate (share of labour force) presents the percentage share of active population in the referent population aged 15 and over.

Outside the labour force population includes all persons in the observed population (aged 15 and over) who are not classified in employed and unemployed population. Out of the labour force population comprises students, pensioners, persons performing household tasks, as well as all other persons who performed no paid job in the observed week, did not actively seek a job and who were not able to start working in two-week time after the observed week.

Outside the labour force rate presents the percentage share of outside the labour force population in total referent population aged 15 and over.

More detailed description of the Survey methodology can be found at the link Methodology

The Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia has not had data for the AP Kosovo and Metohija since 1999, so they are not included in the total data for the Republic of Serbia.

DATABASE

Reference metadata

Labour Force Survey, I Quarter 2025

In the first quarter of 2025, the number of employed persons was 2 887 100, the number of unemployed persons was 289 400. The employment rate was 51.4%, while the unemployment rate was 9.1%.

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