The registered unemployment rate in April 2025 was 9,91 percent, which is the lowest level since the records of the Employment Agency of Montenegro (EAM) have been kept - and for the first time a single-digit unemployment rate in the history of the country. This was announced on June 4, 2025, at a press conference organized by the EAM and the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Dialogue.
"It is truly a matter of great pride that precisely during my mandate, in cooperation with the Employment Agency of Montenegro, to which I owe great gratitude, we have reached a single-digit unemployment rate, which means a lot for our country...", said, among other things, the Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Dialogue, Naida Nišić. This was the "news of the day", not only in the media but also among politicians in power, where Prime Minister Spajić also spoke out, in his own style.
On the same day, 4 June 2025, the media published information from the session of the Parliamentary Committee for Health, Labour and Social Welfare, held the day before, on the topic of demographic trends in Montenegro. "Montenegro is in a demographic crisis. It is estimated that, between 2011 and 2023 (between the two censuses), around 94.000 citizens emigrated, or an average of 22 people left per day," said the Minister of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography, Damir Gutić. "..."Compared to the previous census, we are missing 30.000 young people. Montenegro is on the threshold of deep demographic old age... Although we have recorded a positive natural increase at the state level, there is no reason for optimism, because last year the lowest number of children born was recorded since vital statistics data have been monitored, only 6.964. A UN study predicts that, in 30 years, Montenegro will have a population of 518.000, and in 2100, 328.000," emphasized, among other things, Minister Gutić.
Dr. Gordana Radojević from the NGO Society of Statisticians and Demographers of Montenegro reported that from 2020 to 2023, the population outflow was twice as high as in the period 2015-2019. "Even high economic growth was not enough to protect the population, and research shows that legal security and equal opportunities for advancement are sought," said Ms. Radojević. The causes of emigration were discussed, such as the stepmotherly attitude towards the north of the country, in the post-transition period, and even earlier. In January 2023, the media published information that "25 people have left Montenegro in the last 140.000 years," which is an alarming figure, and the causes cited were the inability to earn a living, party-based employment, instability in society, and the lack of everything that makes life worthy of a human being. CIN-CG has also addressed the same problem on several occasions. Politicians have been mostly silent for decades.
Given the demographic crisis and the age structure of citizens registered with the Employment Service of Montenegro, it is no surprise that we have reached a single-digit unemployment rate. There has never been a record of able-bodied citizens who are not registered with the employment bureaus! The state is forcing seasonal employment, including employment in companies owned by foreign citizens. Tourism above all and public administration above all!
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in April 2025, 95.147 foreign citizens lived in Montenegro (vijesti.me). Of these, 29.649 have permanent residence, 32.219 have extended temporary residence, 9.975 have temporary residence, while 23.304 foreign citizens have temporary residence for work. Out of 623.633 inhabitants in the 2023 census, 46.878 were foreign citizens.
According to Monstat data, the number of businesses owned by foreigners in 2023 was 24.278, which is 31,9 percent more than in 2022, when there were 18.402. Most of them are owned by Russian and Turkish citizens. Politicians at the top of the state, who generally pay little attention to these figures, believe that the settlement of foreigners contributes greatly to economic growth and development, especially tourism, which is the main branch of the Montenegrin economy. Demographers argue that Montenegro must take care of preserving its own demographic and cultural identity. "Public policies must take into account that the arrival of so many foreigners is a challenge for our internal, political and economic capacities and that it leaves consequences in the cultural, linguistic and financial plan," believes demographer, Prof. Dr. Miroslav Doderović. He emphasizes "that Montenegro has limited capacities to integrate such an influx, and that it is a challenge for our identity, political and economic sovereignty!" (cdm.me)
Foreign citizens in Montenegro are engaged in wholesale and retail trade, catering, construction... and their main activity is investing in real estate. According to analyses by the Society of Statisticians and Demographers of Montenegro and the Real Estate Agency, since 2021, a strong trend of growth in the share of foreign investments in the purchase of real estate has been noticeable in Montenegro. In 2019, this share was 23 percent, and since 2023 it has exceeded 50 percent. In the first three months of 2025, 54 percent of total foreign investments continue to go to the purchase of apartments and houses. "It follows that Montenegro is increasingly becoming a destination for real estate investments, while interest in investing in other sectors is decreasing. Such a structure of foreign investments may have long-term consequences for the structure of our economy, because it increases consumption and prices in the housing market, while at the same time limiting the diversification of the economy and the development of other activities," is the opinion of Dr. Gordana Radojević.
"..."Montenegro has already become a market where apartments are purchased exclusively for investment, for the purpose of further resale, business activity or rental. Between the two censuses (2011-2023), the number of apartments used for business activities increased by 345 percent, for seasonal use by 44 percent, empty by 21 percent and occupied by only 14 percent," says Ms. Radojević. (portalanalitika.me)
It's not just Alabar that is "harmful" to Montenegro!
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