Between 2008 and 2009, activity rates for women increased by 16.9% and for men by 12.3%. The increase in activity rates was due to the job loss associated with the global economic crisis. Worsening economic hardships made women who did not work before the crisis join the labor force to supplement family incomes – a trend observed in some other countries of the region (e.g. Turkey, Lithuania)<sup>2</sup> . As could be seen from Figure 1 above, the global economic crisis has increased unemployment among men more than among women. This is because male-dominated sectors (e.g. construction, mining and quarrying, and manufacturing) have been affected more than female-dominated sectors like health or education (See Annex 2 for more information on the sectoral employment changes of men and women after the crisis).

Women of all age groups have higher inactivity and unemployment rates than men. The highest unemployment rate for both genders – 39.8% for men and 45.9% for women – is observed in the 15-24 age group (Serbia LFS 2009). Scarce job opportunities for young people have high social costs as they prevent new entrants in the labor market from obtaining relevant skills.

Activity and employment rates are much higher among people with upper secondary and university education (Figure 2). For instance, activity rates for women vary from 9.1% for those with no education to 83.8% for those with a master’s degree. The respective rates for men are 18.7% and 70.5%. Employment rates follow a similar pattern. Women with low educational attainment are almost twice less likely to be employed than men with similar education levels. However, university-educated women have higher employment rates than men. This difference is most apparent at the master’s level where employment rates among women are 21% higher than among men.

**<u>Figure 2. Employment Rates and Educational Attainment of Working Age Men and Women in Serbia, 2009</u>**

<!-- Start of picture text --> Master's degree<br>Faculty, academy<br>Higher education<br>Upper secondary<br>Lower secondary<br>Employment rate men<br>Primary education<br>5-7 grades of primary school Employment rate women<br>1-4 grades of primary school<br>Without education<br>0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90<br>Employment rates %<br><!-- End of picture text --> Source: Serbia LFS, 2009 Low activity and employment rates among poorly educated women can be potentially explained by several factors. First, women with low educational attainment may be more likely to follow traditional social roles, where a man is seen as a breadwinner and a woman’s role is limited to household’s responsibilities. When asked about reasons for not seeking a job, over one-fifth of low educated women versus one-tenth of women with tertiary education name household responsibilities as a reason for inactivity. Second, the salaries of low educated women are much lower than those of low educated men; with women who have completed only primary education (eight years) receiving 24% less than men with

> 2 Koettl, Johannes Isil Oral and Indhira Santos. 2011. “Employment recovery in Europe and Central Asia”. ECA Knowledge brief. Special Issue1, World Bank, Washington DC

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