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Labour Mobility in the Western Balkans is extremely low

 -  - Labour Mobility in the Western Balkans is extremely low
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Although the potential for creating a “common labour market” in the Western Balkan countries is significant, in practice, there is little movement of workers. The majority of migration from the Western Balkans is directed towards EU countries. Residents of Albania primarily emigrate to Italy, while those from North Macedonia migrate, among other places, to Greece; residents of other countries, particularly Serbia, mostly move to Germany, Switzerland, or Austria.

There is potential to increase workforce mobility among seasonal workers, especially in border areas. Efforts need to focus on simplifying procedures and improving infrastructure—both transport and railway—as well as establishing new border crossings that would speed up and shorten travel times between border municipalities.
Serbia is the only country in the region strategically addressing economic migration.

Closing Conference: “How to Increase Labour Mobility in the Western Balkans”

To present the results of research and propose economic policy measures that could enhance labour mobility, the Institute for Development and Innovation organised a conference on 29 October 2024, at the Sava Centre. The conference was opened by Nenad Jevtović, Director of the Institute for Development and Innovation, and Miodrag Milosavljević, Deputy Director of the Open Society Foundation – Western Balkans. In their speeches, they reflected on their collaborative work over the past four years and shared insights on regional movements and cooperation.

Following the opening, Milica Anđelković Đoković, a researcher from the Institute for Development and Innovation, presented the main conclusions of the analysis on “Labour Mobility between Serbia and the Western Balkan Countries,” along with five proposed economic policy measures aimed at increasing worker mobility in the region.
The Western Balkans is a small market, making it ineffective to consider it as a single economy; thus, the first recommendation is to coordinate measures at the regional level.

Expert Panel and Perspectives from Employers and Unions

The central part of the conference featured a panel dedicated to proposing solutions for the issue of low labour mobility, moderated by Dr Petar Vasić, an associate professor at the Faculty of Geography. Participants included Bojan Stanić, Assistant Director of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, and Dragan Todorović, President of the Independent Trade Unions of Belgrade. Despite differing views on the labour market from the perspectives of employers and employees, the panel concluded that in the coming years and decades, the shortage of workforce will be a fundamental constraint on economic and social development. The panellists agreed that economic policies cannot provide short-term solutions, and that results can only be expected in the medium to long term through the implementation of appropriate economic and demographic policies.

Picture: Institute for Development and Innovation