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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Employment programme opens outstanding opportunity for jobless

Belgrade, 22 June 2005

Serbian Minister of Labour, Employment, and Social Policy Slobodan Lalovic said today that the employment support programme carried out by the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR), the Serbian Ministry of Labour, Employment, and Social Policy, and the National Employment Service (NES) represents a great opportunity for the unemployed to improve their position in the labour market.

Lalovic said that the program will have a key role in the recovery of Belgrade, Bor, and Pirot, where many people have been unemployed for more than two years.

According to him, the real unemployment rate in Serbia is between 18 percent and 20 percent, while the employment rate is around 45 percent.

Lalovic recalled that the recently adopted Employment strategy envisages a reduction of unemployment rate to 10 percent by 2010 and he added that the Serbian government is receiving the EAR’s assistance in this project.

The EAR’s Head of Operations in Belgrade Christos Gofas said that the EAR has provided some €7 million, of which €3.7 million will go to projects that aim to ensure long-term economic recovery and improve employment in Belgrade, Pirot, and Bor.

He also pointed to the great importance of this project given that opening new jobs represents the key to resolving the most important problem for Serbia and the EU’s support to Serbia.