A monthly salary of 154,740 dinars is needed for a decent living in Serbia in 2026, according to a new living-wage calculation by the Center for Emancipation Policies (CPE). The amount is intended to cover the basic social and existential needs of workers and their families.
The new calculation was made on the basis of inflation trends recorded during 2025. CPE describes the figure as a “living wage” — an income sufficient to meet fundamental needs in line with the way minimum earnings are defined by Serbia’s Labour Law and International Labour Organization standards.
Minimum Wage Covers Only 42% of Living-Wage Needs
Serbia’s current average minimum wage stands at approximately 65,000 dinars, meaning it covers only 42% of the amount CPE estimates is necessary for a decent living. Although the gap between the minimum wage and the living wage in Serbia has been narrowing from year to year, CPE says it remains substantial.
The Serbian government has announced that the minimum wage could rise to 70,000 dinars from January 2027. CPE welcomes every increase in minimum earnings as a positive trend but stresses that even the announced amount would remain far below the calculated living wage.
The organization also points out that a 70,000-dinar minimum wage would remain below the risk-of-poverty threshold for a three-member household, which stood at 82,213 dinars in 2025.
According to CPE, this shows a significant difference between legally defined minimum earnings and the amount workers and their families actually need to maintain what it considers a decent standard of living. The organization argues that, despite the legal principle that the lowest earnings should guarantee a decent life for working families, minimum wages in practice continue to keep people in poverty.
CPE Calls for Wages That Allow People to Live, Not Survive
CPE says Serbia therefore needs regular assessments of the living wage alongside a development policy aimed at ensuring decent earnings for all workers. Its position is that wages should provide enough income for people to live rather than merely survive.
The living wage in Serbia was calculated on the basis of research conducted by the international Clean Clothes Campaign network, which brings together organizations and trade unions from around the world advocating better working conditions in the textile industry.
A declaration supporting the living-wage initiative has been signed by four trade union confederations, more than 20 organizations and 3,000 individuals.
