Unemployment in Montenegro

A person generally qualifies for registration as unemployed in Montenegro when they are aged 15 to 67, have no employment, can work fully or partly, actively seek work and are available for work. Montenegrin citizens register with the competent ZZZCG regional unit or Biro rada according to their place of residence. Eligible foreigners can also register when they hold permanent or qualifying temporary residence, family-reunification status, humanitarian status, refugee or subsidiary-protection status, or an applicable asylum status. Registration is a right rather than a general duty, but it is required for access to the contributory unemployment benefit and many ZZZCG services. The registration file normally includes an identity document, employment record, proof of qualifications, the act ending employment, proof that social insurance was deregistered and evidence of insurance periods. ZZZCG has a decision target of 30 days. A person can use the ZZZCG online portal for information and available services, but the competent regional unit or Biro rada remains relevant for the registration procedure and case handling. To claim the contributory unemployment benefit, the person generally needs at least nine months of insurance without interruption or within the previous 18 months, and the employment must have ended involuntarily or without the employee's fault. Mutual agreement, resignation and qualifying misconduct or dismissal can exclude the claim. The application must be filed within 30 days after the insurance ends. The benefit is not a universal flat payment for every unemployed person; it depends on the insurance record, the reason for termination and the applicable legal rules. Benefit duration depends on the insurance period. It is three months for nine months to less than five years of insurance, six months for five to less than 15 years, nine months for 15 to less than 25 years, and 12 months for 25 to less than 35 years. With more than 35 years of insurance, payment can continue until re-employment or eligibility for a pension, subject to the applicable rules. The statutory calculation refers to 120% of obračunska vrijednost koeficijenta. ZZZCG's 2025 report also records a 40% minimum-wage basis and net minimum-wage categories of EUR 600 and EUR 800 from 1 October 2024. The payable amount and contribution treatment should therefore be confirmed for the individual case; pension and health contributions are calculated under the applicable benefit rules. Registration gives access to counselling, vacancy mediation, career guidance, training, workplace training, adult education, public work and self-employment support through ZZZCG. A counsellor helps prepare an Individualni plan zapošljavanja, an individual employment plan. The plan can connect the registered person with suitable vacancies, training or activation measures and can be adjusted to the person's abilities, experience and employment objective. The registered person must actively seek work, remain available, attend counselling, cooperate with the Individualni plan zapošljavanja, accept suitable mediated work and participate in agreed active labour-market measures. Relevant changes must be reported within eight days. Refusing suitable work or an agreed measure, or failing to meet the cooperation duties, can end registration or the benefit. After 12 months of registered unemployment, an offered job is assessed against the person's abilities and the individual employment plan. Active labour-market policy, known locally as APZ, includes employment and activation measures. For 2026, ZZZCG planned more than EUR 31.5 million in programme activity and more than EUR 5.7 million for active labour-market measures, with a plan for 2,062 unemployed participants. The measures focus especially on users of material assistance, women, persons with disabilities, long-term unemployed people, people seeking their first work experience, self-employment applicants and local-community jobs. Programme access depends on the active call, the person's status and, in some cases, the municipality. Long-term unemployment means at least 12 continuous months without employment in the register. Public work particularly targets registered people who are difficult to place or at risk of social exclusion, including people without employment for the previous six months, Roma and Egyptian communities, material-assistance users, people without work experience, people aged 15 to 29 or at least 50, rural residents and single parents. These measures can provide a temporary work opportunity or a transition toward regular employment, but participation and payment depend on the specific programme conditions. Material assistance, called materijalno obezbjeđenje or MOP, is a separate social-protection support system administered through CSR. It is not unemployment insurance and depends on the household's income, assets and the current Social and Child Protection Law. Work-capable beneficiaries may have to cooperate with activation arrangements between CSR and ZZZCG. The social-work line is 19977. Montenegro has no separate universal municipal unemployment payment identified in the available research; the main functional alternatives are the contributory ZZZCG benefit, ZZZCG active labour-market programmes and MOP through CSR. Young people aged 15 to 29 who are not in employment, education or training may fall within the Youth Guarantee. The programme aims to offer employment, education, training or an internship within four months after unemployment or leaving formal education. Its current pilot municipalities are Bijelo Polje, Nikšić and Ulcinj. In 2025, 1,177 young people were registered as NEET, meaning not in employment, education or training, and 176 received support. The 2026 Next job-youth measure planned 22 participants for 12 months, with a subsidy of up to six months and a EUR 132,300 budget; its call deadline was 15 September 2026. The Youth Guarantee is currently limited to the pilot municipalities, so location affects access. ZZZCG operates through a national network, but programmes and calls may be nationwide or limited to a municipality. Seasonal employment contributes to a typical decline in registered unemployment from May to September and a later winter increase. ZZZCG recorded 23,408 registered unemployed people on 31 August 2026, compared with 28,298 at the end of 2025. MONSTAT's labour-force survey counted 310,400 people in the labour force and 33,100 unemployed people in 2025, with an unemployment rate of 10.7%; its fourth-quarter figures were 307,700 people in the labour force, 33,500 unemployed people and an unemployment rate of 10.9%. Survey results and the administrative register use different definitions and must not be treated as interchangeable. Employment, self-employment, business registration, pension eligibility or another statutory status can end or suspend the benefit. The change must be reported to ZZZCG within eight days. An unjustified overpayment can become repayable. A person who takes an indefinite job outside the place of residence may qualify for one-time assistance and travel or relocation costs when the legal conditions are met. Active calls, eligibility, payment amounts and current legal amendments should be checked with ZZZCG or CSR before an application or transition, because the framework includes amendments from 2019, 2025 and 2026.