The state provides monetary compensation of 20,000 to 24,000 dinars.

Money, dinars, Photo: Shutterstock

All interested unemployed will be able to apply for the Serbian Government program of the same name on the mojaprvaplata.gov.rs portal until midnight today. The “My First Salary” program is financed by the Government through the National Employment Service for nine months, 20,000 dinars for high school students, 24,000 dinars for university students.

The director of the National Employment Service, Zoran Martinović, told RTS that there were plans to register some 10,000 people.

– We already have applications and registrations of more than 20,000 people, of which some 14,500 have expressed interest in specific positions and specific employers. That is why this is an opportunity to invite those who have not yet submitted their applications to do so before midnight, Martinović said.

He explained that most people with at least high school education can apply, as well as dominating with about 60 percent of applications and the remaining portion is with higher education. He also pointed out that businessmen expressed demand in approximately the same percentage of people with secondary education.

Most of the applicants come from the fields of management, economics, law, health care, but also technical and technological sciences.

– We’ll see what the balance will be. The important thing is that about 3,500 unemployed have already been selected by employers, within this figure about 14,500 who have specific applications. We have good competition with both employers and the unemployed. It is an excellent program, another anti-crisis measure of the Government – pointed out Martinović.

Martinović stated that the possibility and the scheme have been defined for employers who can also pay the same amount. They are not obligated, but he believes that more employers will hire their own funds to support the people they need.

Workers, work, Photo: Hello! / Dejan Briza

There were no mass layoffs

He assessed that the government’s measures provided full stability and that the economy showed specific resilience and flexibility in this period.

He also noted that there were no layoffs and all labor market indicators show that there are no negative flows, as well as that all this can be illustrated through the current labor force survey.

– We have had an unemployment rate below 10 percent for a year, now it is at the all-time low of 7.3 percent. On the other hand, the number of people in our records fell below 500,000 for the first time; now it is 495,000. The number of people receiving unemployment benefits is the lowest this time, around 5,000 less than in March or October last year, which means there were no mass layoffs, Marinović concludes.

Furthermore, it expects such flows at least until the end of the year, when the Serbian government’s anti-crisis measures last.

Martinovic believes that next year will show stability and that the unemployment rate will remain at the level of the euro zone countries.