According to MONSTAT data, in the first five months of 2023, the total number of employees in the industry sector was 19,269, which represents 8.2% of the total number of registered employment. Compared to the same period in 2022, the number of employees in the industry sector increased by 9.2%. In the observed period, the growth of employees was recorded in all three sectors of the industry (where growth rates range from 3.4% in the Electricity, Gas, Steam and air conditioning supply sector to 10.6% in the Mining and quarrying sector). The largest number of employees is employed in the manufacturing sector (6% of the total number of employees or 74% of employees in the industry sector), while 1.4% of total employment is related to Electricity, Gas Steam and air conditioning supply (or 17% of the number of employees in the industry sector) and 0.8% is employed in the mining and quarrying sector.
The growth of employment in the industrial sector was accompanied by the growth of wages. In the observed period, net earnings in the mining and quarrying sector amounted to EUR 1029, which is a nominal growth of nearly 20% compared to the first five months of 2022. Compared to the average earnings at the national level, earnings in this sector are 32.3% higher. Earnings in the Electricity, Gas, Steam and air conditioning supply sector are also above the national level, where earnings are 1.5 times higher. On the other hand, earnings in the manufacturing industry are significantly lower, so that the average net earnings in the first five months of 2023 were at the level of EUR 605, which is significantly below the average at the level of Montenegro (78% of the national level). The reason for the significant differences in earnings is due to the heterogeneity of the manufacturing sector, which is mostly private owned, and which includes companies of different sizes. On the other hand, the energy sector is state-owned, as is most of the mining and quarrying sector, in which a small number of companies operate.
