Unemployment rate at 20.8 percent

BELGRADE - The jobless rate in Serbia stood at 20.8 percent in the first quarter, shows a survey by the national statistical office.

The male unemployment rate was at 20.1 percent and female one at 21.6 percent.

In the Belgrade region, the jobless rate stood at 18 percent, in Vojvodina- 21.2 percent, the region of Sumadija and western Serbia-20.5 percent, and the region of southern and eastern Serbia -23.5 percent.

At the same time, the employment rate in Serbia was at 38.4 percent, being somewhat higher for men - 45.7 percent, and lower for women-31.6 percent.

The highest employment rate was in the region of Sumadija and western Serbia - 40.7 percent, then in the Belgrade region -38.3 percent. The rate stood at 37.4 percent in Vojvodina, and at 36.5 percent in the region of southern and eastern Serbia.

In the first quarter of this year, unemployment saw a rise of 0.7 percent when compared to October last year, while employment saw a drop of 0.7 percent. At the same time, the informal employment rate was 0.2 percent higher than in October.

The unemployment rate constitutes the percentage of the unemployed in the total number of active citizens (in and out of work). Workforce (active population) is made of all people in work (at least one hour per week) or who are actively searching for a job in order to earn a living.

The employment rate represents the percentage of the employed in the total number of citizens aged above 15.

The informal employment rate constitutes the percentage of people working without a proper job contract in the total number of people in work.

The poll on workforce was conducted on a sample of around 10,000 households in Serbia, and questioned...

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