04 March 2019 - "The Montenegrin economy has grown at a rate of above 4.5% in two previous years. We do not have the final data yet because we are still waiting for information for the 4th quarter of 2018, but in 2017, the growth rate was 4.7%. in the first nine months of 2019, the economy grew by 4.9%, with the third quarter's growth of 5%, which was the third growth rate in Europe. Therefore, Montenegro, a small economy with so many challenges, achieved economic growth which is among the largest ones in Europe in these two years," the Prime Minister stressed answering questions at a meeting with business people sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce in Montenegro.
The Prime Minister said that public finances were significantly improved. This is illustrated by the fact that in the first two months of this year, the revenue side was higher by 6% or 12.9 million EUR. Nevertheless, the Prime Minister said, he is most pleased with the growth of employment because almost 11,000 new jobs have been created over the past two years.
"I am looking forward to this information. On 20 February 2017, we had 52 thousand unemployed. On 26 February 2018, we had 47,593 unemployed, according to the Employment Bureau of Montenegro. And on 25 February 2019, we have 38,535 unemployed people," he underscored at American Chamber of Commerce in Montenegro meeting.
He added that in February 2017, the unemployment rate was 22.46%, and on 20 February 2019, it was 16.61%.
Prime Minister Marković concluded his presentation of Montenegro's economic activity with data on growth in tourism - 30% more tourists than in the same period last year, while financial revenues increased by 43%.
"The goal is to maintain this pace of development, attract new investments, create new jobs, reduce the unemployment rate and, of course, achieve a higher standard of living," the Prime Minister underscored.
