Between 25,000 and 27,000 people permanently leave Serbia every year, according to the data from 2011 to 2022. On the other hand, the influx of foreign workers is steadily increasing and they are mostly Chinese, Russian and Turkish.
For over a decade, more than 25,000 people have been leaving Serbia permanently each year, according to a study conducted by the Institute for Development and Innovation, titled “Labour Mobility in Serbia”. On the other hand, in the first seven months of this year, Serbia issued around 50,000 work permits to foreigners, with workers from China, Russia, and Turkey dominating the influx.
The unemployment situation in Serbia has undeniably improved, and the economic state of the labour market today is incomparable to 2008, emphasized Nenad Jevtović, director of the Institute.
“Back then, we had nearly one million unemployed, while now we have 296,000 unemployed, many of whom are temporarily jobless as they transition between jobs,” he explained.
These results are primarily due to global economic trends and the fact that “we haven’t had a war for 25 years,” which, according to him, means, “you’d have to be particularly inept at economic policy to not make progress.”
However, a problem arises, Jevtović stated, because by 2027, Serbia has chosen a growth model based on construction.
“It’s as if we’ve chosen to drive a diesel car, but we don’t have diesel at home—we have to import it. So, we’ve chosen this, but we don’t have the people or labor force. We lack the workers for all these construction projects,” Jevtović pointed out.
As a result, by July of this year, approximately 50,000 work permits have been issued to foreigners in Serbia, and Jevtović believes that this number will continue to grow, especially with all the work required for the EXPO. He added that Serbia simply doesn’t have enough people for this. “There’s no place in Serbia to pull workers from,” he stressed.
Number of Foreign Workers in Serbia
As Vreme previously reported, during 251 inspections, labour inspectors found a total of 7,781 foreign nationals working, 867 of whom did not have the necessary work permits to work in Serbia. Of these 867 workers, 687 were from Turkey, 36 were from China, 24 were from Cuba, 26 were from India, 9 were from Russia, 14 were from Turkmenistan, 15 were from Uzbekistan, 22 were from Egypt, and 3 from Tajikistan.
Among those found working last year, the majority were from the People’s Republic of China (5,952), followed by Turkey (1,183) and Egypt (256).
In terms of “undocumented work,” meaning without a signed work contract and/or without mandatory social security registration, 450 foreign nationals were found working illegally, with most of them being Turkish citizens (335).
“We Don’t Know Where Our People Who Leave Are”
Jevtović pointed out that between 25,000 and 27,000 people per year left Serbia permanently between 2011 and 2022. However, he added that Serbia has no reliable data on emigration.
“We don’t know where the people who leave are,” Jevtović emphasized.
“Immigration Data is Clear”
On the other hand, immigration data is very clear, which, as Jevtović mentioned, is part of Serbia’s obligations to the European Union (EU), undertaken in 2008. These immigration statistics are monitored by KIRS (the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration).
Jevtović noted that the picture of people coming to work in Serbia is not exactly what it appears to be.
“The dominant groups are the Chinese, followed by the Russians, and since 2017, we’ve seen an exponential increase in Turkish workers, who have tripled in number between 2017 and 2021,” he revealed.
He explained further: “The primary sectors where they work are highways and various construction sites, such as the Morava Corridor and similar projects.”
Jevtović also added that India has become notable, with a large and growing number of workers in the agricultural sector. He further explained that in some cases, the full cost is covered for Indian workers to fly here, complete the work, and then return home in the same manner.
According to research findings, this is happening mainly in Srem, where, as Jevtović pointed out, unemployment is almost nonexistent.
(Vreme, 25.09.2024)
https://vreme.com/drustvo/odlazak-domacih-i-dolazak-stranih-radnika-u-srbiju-kakva-je-statistika/