The end of 2025 brings a clearer picture than ever: Serbia’s labor market is in the most intense phase of transformation in the last decade. While some sectors stagnate, others are experiencing strong growth—IT, e-commerce, logistics, and renewable energy are becoming the pillars of Serbia’s new work economy.
Although unemployment at 9.1% seems stable, it hides deep restructuring: traditional administrative positions are disappearing, while occupations requiring digital and technical skills are gaining importance.
All of this has led to a paradigm shift. Instead of asking, “Is there work?” today the question is increasingly, “Are there enough specialists?” Serbia, like the rest of the region, faces a shortage of workers in specialized fields and a growing need for employees who can quickly adapt to technological changes.
Labor Market 2025: Stable in Numbers, but Fully Transforming
According to the Republic Statistical Office, around 2.88 million people were employed in Serbia during 2025, with an employment rate of 51.4%. The statistics suggest stability, but the essence of change lies in a different job structure.
An increasing share of routine tasks is being taken over by software tools and automated systems. Employees are expected to provide more analytics, greater process control, and more work with digital platforms. Even in sectors traditionally considered “stable,” change is visible: the market demands workers who understand the digital logic of business.
The IT sector remains the key engine of the economy. Over 30,000 IT companies and entrepreneurs are registered in the country, with more than 12,000 actively operating. Service exports are seeing double-digit growth, and demand is expanding beyond classic programming profiles.
The most in-demand occupations in 2025 include:
- Data analytics specialists
- Cybersecurity experts
- AI and machine learning operators
- DevOps and cloud engineers
- Digital project and product managers
More companies are introducing advanced technologies, triggering a chain reaction of demand for professionals who understand digital infrastructure.
THE FUTURE HAS ALREADY BEGUN: New Jobs and Opportunities in 2026
How AI Has Changed Jobs in Serbia
During 2025, artificial intelligence became an everyday business tool—in banks, offices, media, and manufacturing facilities alike. Companies are introducing internal AI policies, forming teams, and creating new positions that didn’t exist before.
AI operators and prompt specialists now play a crucial role in the business environment. Their job is not to develop models but to integrate tools into processes: preparing data, creating prompts, checking output quality, and training employees.
At the same time, the use of no-code and low-code platforms is growing. Many administrative workers, after short training programs, transition into roles designing business workflows, automating tasks, and overseeing digital systems. This enables them to move from administration into better-paid and more stable careers.
New Practical Jobs: Drones, Energy, and Smart Logistics
Although digital careers dominate media coverage, 2025 also sees strong growth in field-based technological occupations. Drones are becoming part of professional practice in agriculture, geodesy, construction, and infrastructure. Modernized regulations and an increasing number of domestic AgTech solutions are creating new jobs for operators, service technicians, and agricultural data analysts.
Renewable energy is also gaining momentum. Serbia currently has around 800 MW of solar and wind energy capacity, but plans through 2030 anticipate significant expansion. This means demand will grow in the coming years for solar system installers, electricians, engineers, and technicians specialized in fieldwork.
E-commerce and logistics are undergoing their own transformation. Online shopping is experiencing double-digit growth, requiring the expansion of distribution centers, warehouse digitization, and modernization of supply chains. In practice, this means new jobs in automated warehouses, delivery centers, and companies implementing advanced WMS systems.
Traditional Occupations in a Modern Form
Craft and technical professions are gaining new value. Welders working on specialized structures, electricians, plumbers skilled in smart heating and cooling systems—all are becoming premium-category workers. Their skills are difficult to automate, and industry and construction modernization makes them indispensable in the market.
Simultaneously, hybrid positions are emerging in agriculture, combining agronomy, IT, and analytics. Young people from rural areas can now work as GIS mapping specialists, soil analysts, or digital consultants, transforming agriculture into an industry with modern career paths.
Jobs Set to Explode in 2026
Based on current trends, it is already clear that three groups of occupations will be particularly sought after in 2026:
- Energy auditors and energy efficiency experts—due to European standards and building modernization
- AI educators and internal trainers—because companies are implementing AI faster than teams can master it
- Smart logistics coordinators—thanks to the expansion of e-commerce and digitization of transport flows
All three areas offer fast paths to well-paid and long-term stable careers.
How Candidates Can Prepare for the Job Market of the Future
The good news is that entering most promising sectors does not require years of schooling. Targeted training, retraining programs, and practical courses are often enough for candidates to gain the skills needed for AI, e-commerce, logistics, or renewable energy.
Candidates should first realistically assess their own skills. Administrative workers who are proficient with digital tools can retrain as no-code specialists or project assistants in digital teams. Electricians and technicians can quickly shift toward solar and wind energy systems. Young people already spending time online can easily enter e-commerce teams through customer support, catalog management, or digital marketing.
Monitoring the market in real time has become essential. Platforms like Jooble allow candidates to track which positions are most frequently opening, in which cities workers are most in demand, and what conditions are offered. This way, trends are recognized early, and decisions about education or retraining become strategic.
Digital literacy and at least basic English proficiency are today the entry ticket for almost all modern jobs, especially in AI, IT, and logistics.
Conclusion: 2025 Was a Turning Point, 2026 Is an Opportunity
The year 2025 showed that Serbia’s labor market is no longer divided into “public” and “private” sectors but into growing and disappearing occupations. AI, e-commerce, logistics, green energy, and modernized crafts are shaping a new work economy, while traditional employment models retreat before technological change.
For workers and those entering the market, 2026 will be a test of adaptability. Those who learn, experiment, and embrace new technologies will have the best chance to build stable and well-paid careers. The labor market is already changing—the only question is who will recognize and seize the opportunity in time.
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Source: PR Foto: Canva