Social inclusion of Roma through active labor market policies in Serbia

Roma communities across Europe face persistent labor market exclusion, characterized by high unemployment, informal work, and limited access to formal employment. Despite numerous policy initiatives, evidence on the effectiveness of active labor market policies (ALMPs) targeting ethnic minorities remains scarce, largely due to the absence of ethnicity-disaggregated data. This paper evaluates the employment outcomes of a targeted ALMP program, "Inclusion of Roma and other Marginalized Groups in Serbia", implemented by German Development Cooperation in support of the National Strategy for Social Inclusion of Roma in Serbia 2016–2025. The program provided vocational training, practical skills acquisition, and self-employment subsidies to Roma and returnees facing multiple barriers to labor market participation. Using data from an endline survey of 350 program participants conducted on average 14 months after registration, the paper examines changes in employment status, sectoral employment patterns, job quality, and participant satisfaction. The results show a substantial increase in employment — from 23.4% before the program to 65.2% after participation. The largest employment gains were recorded in industry (+48.2 percentage points), followed by other sectors (+46.4 p.p.), self-employment (+33.5 p.p.), and services (+27.2 p.p.). Most participants expressed satisfaction with the program: 78.6% received certificates and 63.3% found the acquired skills useful. However, job quality improvements remained limited, only 18% of those employed held permanent contracts and just 11.4% reported increased earnings attributable to the program. Regression analysis indicates that educational attainment was the strongest predictor of post-program employment, while gender and returnee status showed no significant effect. The findings suggest that ALMPs can be an effective tool for promoting labor market inclusion of highly marginalized populations, but sustained improvements in job quality and earnings require complementary investments in formal education and demand-side policies.