Statistical Release

According to the Labour Force Survey, in the second quarter of 2026 the number of employed persons was 2 840 100, the number of unemployed persons was 220 200, while the number of persons outside the labour force was 2 516 800. The employment rate stood at 50.9%, the unemployment rate at 7.2%, and the population outside the labour force rate at 45.1%.

Compared with the same quarter of 2025, a decrease was recorded both in the number of employed persons (by 45 800) and unemployed persons (by 46 800), while the number of persons outside the labour force increased by 61 900. The employment rate decreased by 0.6 percentage points (p.p.) and the unemployment rate by 1.3 p.p., while the outside the labour force rate increased by 1.3 p.p.

Compared with the previous quarter, the number of employed persons increased by 4 100, while the number of unemployed persons decreased by 56 100. The number of persons outside the labour force increased by 38 200. The employment rate increased by 0.2 p.p., the unemployment rate decreased by 1.7 p.p., while the rate of persons outside the labour force increased by 0.8 p.p.

Total rate of informal employment was 11.0%, where the rate of informal employment in the agricultural sector was 52.1% and in non-agricultural sectors 5.9%.

(r) revised data

Table 1 Basic indicators of labour market trends of persons aged 15 and over, II quarter 2026

	Q2 2026	Changes relative to the previous quarter	Changes relative to the same quarter of the previous year
	%	p. p.	p. p.
Activity rate	54.9	-0.8	-1.3
Employment rate	50.9	0.2	-0.6
Rate of informal employment (total)	11.0	-0.3	-0.4
Rate of informal employment, excl. agriculture	5.9	0.0	-0.2
Rate of informal employment in agriculture	52.1	1.3	1.7
Unemployment rate	7.2	-1.7	-1.3
Longterm unemployment rate	3.0	-0.3	-0.3
Out of labour force rate	45.1	0.8	1.3
NEET rate (15-24)	11.2	-0.8	-0.6
NEET rate (15-29)	12.9	-1.3	-1.0

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Table 2. Population aged 15 and over, by working status, II quarter 2026

	Q2 2026	Changes relative to the previous quarter		Changes relative to the same quarter of the previous year
	(in thousand)	(in thousand)	%	(in thousand)	%
Total population	5577.1	-13.7	-0.2	-30.6	-0.5
Active population	3060.3	-52.0	-1.7	-92.6	-2.9
Employed	2840.1	4.1	0.1	-45.8	-1.6
Formally employed	2526.4	12.1	0.5	-30.1	-1.2
Formally employed, excl. agriculture	2373.8	29.6	1.3	-12.5	-0.5
Formally employed in agriculture	152.6	-17.5	-10.3	-17.7	-10.4
Informally employed	313.6	-8.1	-2.5	-15.7	-4.8
Informally employed, excl. agriculture	147.8	1.5	1.0	-8.4	-5.4
Informally employed in agriculture	165.9	-9.4	-5.4	-7.3	-4.2
Unemployed	220.2	-56.1	-20.3	-46.8	-17.5
Out of labour force	2516.8	38.2	1.5	61.9	2.5

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	15 and more	15–24	15–64	15–74	15–89	20–64	25–64
Activity rates	54.9	30.1	72.1	61.3	55.2	77.6	80.4
Employment rates	50.9	23.5	66.8	56.9	51.2	72.0	75.3
Unemployment rates	7.2	22.0	7.4	7.2	7.2	7.2	6.4
Out of labour force rates	45.1	69.9	27.9	38.7	44.8	22.4	19.6

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Table 4. Population aged 15 and over, by working status and sex, II quarter 2026

	Q2 2026	Changes relative to the previous quarter	Changes relative to the same quarter of the previous year
Total
Total population	5577.1	-13.7	-0.2	-30.6	-0.5
Active population	3060.3	-52.0	-1.7	-92.6	-2.9
Employed	2840.1	4.1	0.1	-45.8	-1.6
Unemployed	220.2	-56.1	-20.3	-46.8	-17.5
Out of labour force	2516.8	38.2	1.5	61.9	2.5
Male
Total population	2687.0	-6.7	-0.2	-14.5	-0.5
Active population	1656.5	-29.0	-1.7	-65.0	-3.8
Employed	1549.2	15.5	1.0	-27.7	-1.8
Unemployed	107.3	-44.4	-29.3	-37.4	-25.8
Out of labour force	1030.5	22.2	2.2	50.5	5.2
Female
Total population	2890.1	-7.0	-0.2	-16.1	-0.6
Active population	1403.8	-23.0	-1.6	-27.5	-1.9
Employed	1290.8	-11.4	-0.9	-18.2	-1.4
Unemployed	113.0	-11.6	-9.3	-9.3	-7.6
Out of labour force	1486.2	15.9	1.1	11.3	0.8

Table 4a. Activity, employment, unemployment and population out of the labour force rates of persons aged 15 and over by sex, II quarter 2026

	Q2 2026	Changes relative to the previous quarter	Changes relative to the same quarter of the previous year
Total
Activity rates	54.9	-0.8	-1.3
Employment rates	50.9	0.2	-0.6
Unemployment rates	7.2	-1.7	-1.3
Out of labour force rates	45.1	0.8	1.3
Male
Activity rates	61.6	-1.0	-2.1
Employment rates	57.7	0.8	-0.7
Unemployment rates	6.5	-2.5	-1.9
Out of labour force rates	38.4	1.0	2.1
Female
Activity rates	48.6	-0.6	-0.7
Employment rates	44.7	-0.2	-0.3
Unemployment rates	8.0	-0.7	-0.5
Out of labour force rates	51.4	0.6	0.7

Table 5. Population aged 15-24 by working status and sex, II quarter 2026

	Q2 2026	Changes relative to the previous quarter	Changes relative to the same quarter of the previous year
Total
Total population	667.5	-4.1	-0.6	-3.3	-0.5
Active population	200.6	-15.0	-7.0	-18.3	-8.4
Employed	156.5	-9.2	-5.6	-12.6	-7.5
Unemployed	44.1	-5.7	-11.4	-5.7	-11.4
Out of labour force	466.9	10.9	2.4	15.0	3.3
Male
Total population	342.7	-0.7	-0.2	-1.4	-0.4
Active population	124.8	-9.2	-6.9	-12.0	-8.8
Employed	100.0	-2.5	-2.4	-7.3	-6.8
Unemployed	24.8	-6.7	-21.3	-4.7	-15.9
Out of labour force	217.9	8.4	4.0	10.6	5.1
Female
Total population	324.9	-3.2	-1.0	-1.8	-0.6
Active population	75.8	-5.8	-7.1	-6.3	-7.7
Employed	56.6	-6.7	-10.6	-5.2	-8.4
Unemployed	19.3	1.0	5.5	-1.0	-4.9
Out of labour force	249.1	2.6	1.1	4.5	1.8

Table 5a. Activity, employment, unemployment and population out of the labour force rates of persons aged 15-24 by sex, II quarter 2026

	Q2 2026	Changes relative to the previous quarter	Changes relative to the same quarter of the previous year
Total
Activity rates	30.1	-2.0	-2.5
Employment rates	23.5	-1.2	-1.7
Unemployment rates	22.0	-1.1	-0.8
Out of labour force rates	69.9	2.0	2.5
Male
Activity rates	36.4	-2.6	-3.4
Employment rates	29.2	-0.6	-2.0
Unemployment rates	19.9	-3.6	-1.7
Out of labour force rates	63.6	2.6	3.4
Female
Activity rates	23.3	-1.6	-1.8
Employment rates	17.4	-1.9	-1.5
Unemployment rates	25.4	2.9	0.6
Out of labour force rates	76.7	1.6	1.8

Table 6. Population aged 15-64 by working status and sex, II quarter 2026

	Q2 2026	Changes relative to the previous quarter	Changes relative to the same quarter of the previous year
Total
Total population	4067.7	-11.4	-0.3	-43.0	-1.0
Active population	2934.5	-39.3	-1.3	-74.9	-2.5
Employed	2716.1	15.4	0.6	-31.2	-1.1
Unemployed	218.4	-54.7	-20.0	-43.7	-16.7
Out of labour force	1133.2	27.9	2.5	31.8	2.9
Male
Total population	2035.6	-5.3	-0.3	-19.6	-1.0
Active population	1576.7	-23.8	-1.5	-51.2	-3.1
Employed	1470.8	20.4	1.4	-14.4	-1.0
Unemployed	105.9	-44.2	-29.4	-36.8	-25.8
Out of labour force	458.8	18.4	4.2	31.5	7.4
Female
Total population	2032.1	-6.1	-0.3	-23.4	-1.1
Active population	1357.7	-15.6	-1.1	-23.8	-1.7
Employed	1245.2	-5.1	-0.4	-16.9	-1.3
Unemployed	112.5	-10.5	-8.5	-6.8	-5.7
Out of labour force	674.4	9.5	1.4	0.4	0.1

Table 6a. Activity, employment, unemployment and population out of the labour force rates of persons aged 15-64 by sex, II quarter 2026

	Q2 2026	Changes relative to the previous quarter	Changes relative to the same quarter of the previous year
Total
Activity rates	72.1	-0.8	-1.1
Employment rates	66.8	0.6	0.0
Unemployment rates	7.4	-1.8	-1.3
Out of labour force rates	27.9	0.8	1.1
Male
Activity rates	77.5	-0.9	-1.7
Employment rates	72.3	1.2	0.0
Unemployment rates	6.7	-2.7	-2.1
Out of labour force rates	22.5	0.9	1.7
Female
Activity rates	66.8	-0.6	-0.4
Employment rates	61.3	0.0	-0.1
Unemployment rates	8.3	-0.7	-0.3
Out of labour force rates	33.2	0.6	0.4

Table 7. Population aged 15 and over by working status and region, II quarter 2026

	Q2 2026	Changes relative to the previous quarter	Changes relative to the same quarter of the previous year
Total
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	5577.1	-13.7	-0.2	-30.6	-0.5
Beogradski region	1423.8	-1.2	-0.1	-0.5	0.0
Region Vojvodine	1457.6	-3.0	-0.2	-6.9	-0.5
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	1520.6	-5.0	-0.3	-11.4	-0.7
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	1175.0	-4.7	-0.4	-11.8	-1.0
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...	...	...
Active population
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	3060.3	-52.0	-1.7	-92.6	-2.9
Beogradski region	851.6	-6.8	-0.8	3.9	0.5
Region Vojvodine	778.0	-18.7	-2.3	-25.2	-3.1
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	815.7	-28.9	-3.4	-52.2	-6.0
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	614.9	2.3	0.4	-19.1	-3.0
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...	...	...
Employed
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	2840.1	4.1	0.1	-45.8	-1.6
Beogradski region	804.1	1.9	0.2	13.3	1.7
Region Vojvodine	726.7	-3.3	-0.5	-24.8	-3.3
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	758.2	-16.6	-2.1	-28.7	-3.6
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	551.0	22.1	4.2	-5.6	-1.0
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...	...	...
Unemployed
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	220.2	-56.1	-20.3	-46.8	-17.5
Beogradski region	47.5	-8.7	-15.5	-9.4	-16.5
Region Vojvodine	51.3	-15.3	-23.0	-0.3	-0.6
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	57.5	-12.3	-17.6	-23.6	-29.1
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	63.9	-19.8	-23.7	-13.5	-17.4
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...	...	...
Out of labour force
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	2516.8	38.2	1.5	61.9	2.5
Beogradski region	572.2	5.6	1.0	-4.4	-0.8
Region Vojvodine	679.6	15.7	2.4	18.3	2.8
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	704.9	23.9	3.5	40.8	6.1
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	560.1	-7.0	-1.2	7.3	1.3
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...	...	...

Table 7a. Activity, employment, unemployment and population out of the labour force rates of persons aged 15 and over by region, II quarter 2026

	Q2 2026	Changes relative to the previous quarter	Changes relative to the same quarter of the previous year
Activity rate
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	54.9	-0.8	-1.3
Beogradski region	59.8	-0.4	0.3
Region Vojvodine	53.4	-1.1	-1.4
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	53.6	-1.8	-3.1
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	52.3	0.4	-1.1
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...
Employment rate
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	50.9	0.2	-0.6
Beogradski region	56.5	0.2	1.0
Region Vojvodine	49.9	-0.1	-1.4
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	49.9	-0.9	-1.5
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	46.9	2.1	0.0
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...
Unemployment rate
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	7.2	-1.7	-1.3
Beogradski region	5.6	-0.9	-1.1
Region Vojvodine	6.6	-1.8	0.2
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	7.0	-1.3	-2.3
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	10.4	-3.3	-1.8
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...
Outside the labour force rate
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA	45.1	0.8	1.3
Beogradski region	40.2	0.4	-0.3
Region Vojvodine	46.6	1.1	1.4
Region Šumadije i Zapadne Srbije	46.4	1.8	3.1
Region Južne i Istočne Srbije	47.7	-0.4	1.1
Region Kosovo i Metohija	...	...	...

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In the second quarter of 2026, 12 153 households, i.e. 30 725 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 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 obtaining data on three main, mutually exclusive, contingents of population: employed persons, unemployed persons and outside labour force population.

Active population (labour force) is an additional aggregated category and it includes all employed and unemployed persons.

Activity rate presents the percentage share of active population (employed and unemployed) in the total referent population (aged 15 and over, i.e. in the indicated age group).

Employed persons are the persons (aged 15-89) who, in the reference week, performed a paid job for at least one hour (in cash or in kind), including unpaid family workers, as well as persons who had a job, but were temporarily absent from work in that week.

Employment rate is the percentage share of employed persons in the total population (aged 15 and over, i.e. in the indicated age group).

Formal employment includes persons who have a formal and legal employment contract, persons who are founders of registered companies or entrepreneur shops or perform independently an activity based on registration in relevant government institutions.

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 share of informally employed persons 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 the labour force / active population (employed and unemployed).

Long-term unemployment represents active job search for more than a year, and refers exclusively to the period of unemployment - from the moment of termination of the last employment to the moment of the survey. Any active job search while the person was still employed is not taken into account, but only the duration of unemployment.

The long-term unemployment rate represents the share of persons unemployed for more than a year in the labor force (employed and unemployed).

Outside the labour force population includes all persons aged 89 and persons between 15 and 89 years who were not employed or unemployed in the referent week according to the definitions of employment and unemployment.

Outside the labour force rate presents the percentage share of outside the labour force population in the total referent population (aged 15 and over, i.e. in the indicated age group).

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

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, II Quarter 2026

In the second quarter of 2026, the number of employed persons was 2 840 100, the number of unemployed persons was 220 200. The employment rate was 50.9%, while the unemployment rate was 7.2%.

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