The Committee on Labour, Ex-Servicemen’s and Social Issues continued its practice of discussing reports from the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Policy, instituted to follow the implementation of legislation.

At the Committee’s sitting held on 30 May 2006, Radmila Bukumirovic-Kostic, Assistant to the Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Policy, presented a report from the Ministry’s Employment Sector. Ms Bukumirovic-Kostic told the sitting that statistics did not seem to show much progress in reducing unemployment. The employment rate in Serbia in 2005 was 51%; the Ministry aims to increase it to 56.8% by 2010. The average unemployment rate in 2005 was 26.3%. Ms Bukumirovic-Kostic expressed concern over the very low rate of youth employment (for 15- to 24-year-olds): in Serbia the rate is 35.8%, while the EU average reaches 50%.

The priorities of the Employment Sector for the future are to reduce unemployment, increase competitiveness in the market by improving and extending active employment measures, solve the problem of surplus employees, decentralise and modernise the National Employment Service, and improve social dialogue and the efficiency of the Social and Economic Council and local employment councils.

The report states that the National Employment Strategy, covering the period from 2005 to 2010, was adopted last year, as well as that the Government of the Republic of Serbia had last week adopted the National Action Plan for the period from 2006 to 2008, aiming at ensuring funding for active employment measures.

The sitting was chaired by the chairperson of the Committee on Labour, Ex-Servicemen’s and Social Issues, Ivana Kovacevic.