TIRANA (Albania), July 15 (SeeNews) – The economic upswing continued in the Western Balkans in the first quarter of 2019 albeit at a slower pace, with annual gross domestic product growth decelerating to 2.7%, from an average 3.4% in the preceding quarter, the European Commission said.
“Growth slowed in most countries of the region, but it continued to be supported by robust domestic demand, in particular household consumption,” the Commission said in its EU Candidate Countries' & Potential Candidates' Economic Quarterly report for the second quarter published late on Friday.
In spite of the slowdown in GDP growth, jobs were created at a faster pace than in the previous three months and unemployment rates declined in all countries, the Commission added.
“Strong domestic demand boosted tax revenues across the region, and the ratio of public debt to GDP came down in most countries compared to end-2018, but still high public debt levels remain a source of concern in general,” the EU's executive body noted.
North Macedonia and Kosovo recorded the strongest acceleration of annual GDP growth in the first quarter, to 4.1% each based on strong investment.
Montenegro recorded the strongest slowdown, to 3.0% year-on-year from 4.8% in the preceding quarter, due to sluggish investment growth.
In Albania, economic growth decelerated as a result of a slowdown in investment and household consumption growth, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina a softening of economic growth was mainly due to a further weakening of exports.
In Serbia, growth, still driven by strong domestic demand, eased to 2.5% from 3.4% in the previous quarter mainly due to shrinking inventories, according to the report.
The average job growth rate in the Western Balkans rose to 3.7% in the first quarter of 2019 from 2.0% in the previous quarter.
“Economic growth has led to further increases in employment levels in most countries of the Western Balkans. In the first quarter of 2019, annual employment growth accelerated compared to the previous quarter in Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania,” the European Commission said.
Details on the countries of the Western Balkans for the first quarter of 2019 follow (percentage change):
|
GDP |
Unemployment |
C/A balance |
Inflation |
Albania |
2.2 |
12.6 |
-7.1 |
1.7 |
North Macedonia |
4.1 |
17.8 |
-0.5 |
1.3 |
Montenegro |
3.0 |
15.2 |
-17.3 |
0.4 |
Serbia |
2.5 |
12.1 |
-5.6 |
2.4 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
2.3 |
- |
-4.2 |
1.0 |
Kosovo |
4.1 |
26.9 |
-8.8 |
3.2 |