Living Standards Measurements Study - Serbia 2002 - 2007

possible to examine hidden unemployment. In
previous research respondents who actually did not
work or receive salaries, but were officially
employed in bankrupt companies, were classified as
employed.
The definition of employed and unemployed
persons is the same in both LFS and LSMS 2007
and the data can also be compared with that of other
countries using the same ILO definition.
Confusion sometimes arises in relation to the
fact that there are two widely used sources of data
on the number of unemployed people:
1. Labour Force Survey
2. National Employment Service (NES) records
This is the case in Serbia because despite the
availability of LFS a large number of users, by
habit, continue to use the NES data as indicative and
reliable enough to reflect an absolute and relative
measure of unemployment. The unemployment rate
calculated according to the NES is higher due to the
following reasons:
1. The active population has not been fully taken
into account, i.e. not all the employees in the
informal sector have been included (both in
agricultural and non-agricultural activities),
along with the unpaid family members assisting
in the family business and those employed in the
defence ministries,
2. The unemployed include all people from the
NES records, regardless of whether they have an
informal job, or have even started working under
a formal employment contract, but have not been
erased from the records in the meantime.
Until June 30, 2006, it was practically
impossible to identify those from the NES records
who really want employment, and those who got
registered for the sake of some other benefits, e.g.
the right to health insurance. From January 1, 2007,
health insurance could no longer be obtained
through the NES. However, those who verified their
health care cards in the NES before December 31,
2006, had the right to get health care through the
NES until June 30, 2007.
According to LSMS data, of the total number
of persons registered with NES, 81 percent
registered in order to seek employment while 19
percent applied for a different reason.
The difference between the definition of the
employed and unemployed used by the NES and
that used in the LFS and LSMS is best illustrated by
examining the total number of respondents who
reported in the LSMS that they registered with the
NES in order to find work. By applying the ILO
definition 35 percent are employed people, 43
percent unemployed and 23 percent inactive. The
estimated number of unemployed persons from LFS
2007 is over 900 000, while in May 2007 there were
some 870 000 people registered as unemployed in
the NES.
A unique difficulty for the NES is establishing
whether registered people are ready to start work,
and identifying the real motives for their
registration. This is why the unemployment rate
published by NES is higher than the unemployment
rate calculated by LFS and LSMS studies, and why
it also cannot be compared with unemployment
rates of other countries.
Table 9.8. Population aged 15+ by NES and employment status, LSMS 2007
Employment by ILO definitions
Total Employed Unemployed Inactive
Total 100.0 47.0 7.1 45.9
Not registered in NES 100.0 49.6 1.0 49.3
Registered in NES to find a job 100.0 34.6 42.3 23.1
Registered in NES for other reasons 100.0 33.9 6.7 59.4
124 Living Standards Measurements Study - Serbia 2002 - 2007