Problem nezaposlenosti tokom 2000-ih prerasta u strukturnu nezaposlenost. Brza privatizacija i traljavi (trogodišnji i petogodišnji) socijalni programi doprineli su gašenju velikog broja radnih mesta. Visoke stope rasta BDP-a u prvoj polovini 2000-ih godina praćene su kontinuiranim rastom stopa nezaposlenosti. Suprotno konvencijalnim politikama!
Do krizne 2009. godine blago se smanjuje nezaposlenosti, ali tada sa drastičnim padom BDP-a značajno raste nezaposlenost. Na tržištu rada smanjuje se pregovaračka moć radnika i bez podrške države, uz pad realnih zarada, povećava se stopa rizika od siromaštva. Niske stope privrednog rasta i negativna 2012. godina uvele su srpsku prviredu u problem pada potencijalnog autputa, što je dodatno produbilo problem nezaposlenosti i siromaštva.
The unemployment problem in Serbia during the 2000s evolved into structural unemployment. Rapid privatization and poorly designed (three- and five-year) social programmes contributed to the closure of a large number of jobs. High GDP growth rates in the first half of the 2000s were accompanied by a continuous increase in unemployment rates – contrary to conventional economic policy expectations.
Until the crisis year of 2009, unemployment declined slightly; however, with the sharp drop in GDP, unemployment increased significantly. In the labour market, workers’ bargaining power weakened, and in the absence of adequate state support, declining real wages led to an increased risk of poverty. Low economic growth rates and the negative economic performance in 2012 pushed the Serbian economy into a situation of declining potential output, further deepening the problems of unemployment and poverty.