Vulin: Government aims to further reduce unemployment rate

BELGRADE - Minister of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy Aleksandar Vulin said on Monday that last year saw a drop in Serbia's unemployment rate from 23 to 17.6 percent, and the government will strive to keep it at the same level and reduce it, if possible, primarily through youth employment schemes.

Serbia's youth unemployment now stands at 26.8 percent, which is too high, and our objective is to make it decrease, Vulin told Belgrade-based broadcaster Pink.

He noted that for 2015, the National Employment Service envisaged employment measures that should result in 120,000 jobs, for 50 percent of which young people under 30 should be hired.

Vulin said that one of the ways to employ young people is the First Chance scheme, and subsidies for employers who recruit them.

Besides this, the ministry of youth and sports, with the backing of the ministry of labor and employment, launched a youth initiative program.

The goal of the project is to see what the best companies are doing for youth employment, and what the state could them for them to open their doors wider, Vulin said.

He said that last year Air Serbia hired 700 young people, and pointed to a new chance for their employment- the arrival of Etihad which is in talks with Montenegro Airlines, as its headquarters should be in Belgrade.

At the same time, the government started resolving problems of restructuring companies and ensured a social program for redundant workers, the labor minister said, adding that a total of RSD 16 billion were earmarked for the program, and another RSD 500 million from the solidarity gfund.

"We can provide assistance to over 50,000 people," Vulin said, adding that 5,000 people received severance pays since...