According to a survey conducted by KOMS, as of May 2022, 86,575 young people aged 15-30 in Serbia were unemployed, accounting for 19.2% of the total unemployed. The 'My First Salary' program aims to encourage youth employment by providing training and salaries for up to 10,000 young people without work experience. This program was recognized with the Emerging Europe Award in 2022. However, a survey found that Serbian students lag in financial literacy compared to OECD averages, as financial education is not currently part of the basic education curriculum in Serbia.

1. YOUTH
UNEMPLOYMENT
IN SERBIA
TEAM SERBIA

2. Every year KOMS conducts research on the
population of young people aged 15 to 30 as part
of the population of Serbia.
The results of the research are published on
International Youth Day - 12. August on their
official website where they are available to the
public.
KOMS is the highest independent
youth body in Serbia that
represents the interests of young
people at all levels.

3. Research
Desk analysis
0
1
Interviews with
selected participants
0
2
Online questionnaire
for young people
0
3

4. POSITION OF
YOUTH ON
THE LABOR
MARKET Other
80.8
%
Youth
19.2
%
According to official data of the National
Employment Service, the number of young
people who are unemployed in May 2022
is 86,575 which represents a total of
19.20% of the total number of the
unemployed.

5. Source - national
employment service
Number of unemployed
youth in Serbia
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
125,000
100,000
75,000
50,000
25,000
0

6. YOUTH
EMPLOYMENT
PROGRAM
"MY FIRST SALARY"

7. MY FIRST SALARY
The "My First Salary" program aims to
encourage the employment of young
people and provide support to the
economy in solving the problem of staff
shortages.
The program will enable up to 10,000
young people with secondary and higher
education, up to the age of 30, without
work experience, to be trained for
independent work in concrete jobs.
The program has entered its second year
of implementation, where the fees for
work
have been increased to RSD 26.000 +
additional contributions.
The final list of those selected includes
5,358 employers for 6,926 advertised
positions and 9,015 candidates.
https://mojaprvaplata.gov.rs/naslovna

8. The "My First Salary" project was
shortlisted for the Emerging Europe
Award 2022, which is an opportunity
for other countries to hear about this
project and apply it so that the
youth of Europe have a similar
experience as youth in Serbia.
The project "My First Salary" won the
Emerging Europe Award
Award at the end of June 2022.

9. HOW
HELPFUL
WAS THE
FINANCIAL
AID
financial aid
helped a lot
financial aid did
not help much
After the pandemic, the president made a decision on financial aid for young
people in Serbia. On several occasions, certain amounts were paid into the
accounts of young people who applied.
34,7
%
65,3
%

10. FINANCIAL LITERACY
According to the financial literacy
results, students from Serbia lag
behind the international (OECD)
average by 60 points. In Serbia, a
smaller number of students have a
bank account, a payment card, fewer
of them bought online and paid with a
mobile phone than their peers
according to the OECD average.
The reason for this is that financial
literacy is not part of basic education in
Serbia.

11. THANK
YOU