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Exploring the link between the covid-19 crisis and non-employment in Serbia: Who was left behind?

Author

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  • Nemanja Vuksanović
  • Dragan Aleksić

Abstract

The global health crisis that began in early 2020 also affected Serbia. The national lockdown and subsequent social distancing measures had a considerable effect on both the economy and the population. The quarantine, followed by social distancing measures, had a significant impact on the economy and population. Despite the overall satisfactory performance of the labour market, there are signs that the majority of workers who were not protected by the government’s measures either lost their jobs or even left the labour market and moved into inactivity. Therefore, instead of focusing on unemployment, the aim of the paper is to analyse the impact of the health crisis on non-employment (unemployment and inactivity). Applying the probit model to LFS data, we examined the probability of non-employment in the years before and during the COVID-19 outbreak. Controlling for the individual characteristics, we found that young and old people as well as those with a lower level of education fared slightly worse than the overall population. While the active labour market measure ‘My First Salary’ probably helped to improve the relative position of youth, the position of elderly and people with a low level of education deteriorated further in 2021.

Suggested Citation

  • Nemanja Vuksanović & Dragan Aleksić, 2025. "Exploring the link between the covid-19 crisis and non-employment in Serbia: Who was left behind?," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 70(245), pages 43-74, April – J.
    • Handle: RePEc:beo:journl:v:70:y:2025:i:245:p:43-74
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marko Vladisavljevic & Lara Lebedinski, 2023. "Left behind in Covid times: the impact of the pandemic on job loss and job finding rates of vulnerable groups in Serbia," Applied Economic Analysis, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 31(93), pages 147-161, August.
    2. Ana Lariau & Lucy Qian Liu, 2022. "Inequality in the Spanish Labor Market During the COVID-19 Crisis," IMF Working Papers 2022/018, International Monetary Fund.
    3. Richard Arnott, 1998. "Economic Theory and the Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 35(7), pages 1171-1185, June.
    4. Guido Matias Cortes & Eliza Forsythe, 2023. "Heterogeneous Labor Market Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 76(1), pages 30-55, January.
    5. Gregg, Paul & Tominey, Emma, 2005. "The wage scar from male youth unemployment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 487-509, August.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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