In the first quarter of this year, Montenegro had 304.8 thousand people in the active population, according to data from MONSTAT. Out of that number, 270.6 thousand or 88.8 percent were employed.
There were 34.2 thousand unemployed individuals, making up 11.2 percent of the active population.
The number of people outside the labor force (aged 15 to 89) was 205 thousand.
For the 15–89 age group in the first quarter, the activity rate was 59.8 percent, the employment rate was 53.1 percent, the unemployment rate was 11.2 percent, and the rate of the population outside the labor force was 40.2 percent.
Men accounted for 170.1 thousand or 55.8 percent of the active population, while women made up 134.7 thousand or 44.2 percent.
Among the employed, 147 thousand or 54.3 percent were men, and 123.6 thousand or 45.7 percent were women. Among the unemployed, 23 thousand or 67.3 percent were men, and 11.2 thousand or 32.7 percent were women.
The largest number of employed individuals were aged between 25 and 49, totaling 177.3 thousand. The same age group also had the highest number of unemployed, with 18.6 thousand people.
Employment by sector showed that the majority, 76.4 percent, worked in services, followed by non-agricultural sectors (industry and construction) with 19.4 percent, and agriculture, forestry, and fishing with 4.2 percent.
The survey covered 1.83 thousand households. Demographic data were collected for all household members—4.72 thousand people in total—and employment data for 3.97 thousand individuals aged 15 to 89.
MONSTAT noted that data for the first quarter of 2024 were estimated using results from the 2023 population and housing census, while previous data were based on the 2011 census.
This caused a break in the time series, making the new data incomparable with previous periods. To ensure consistency and comparability, a data revision will be conducted to align historical data with the 2023 census results.
