TIDZ – RECORD FIRST QUARTER AND HIGHEST EMPLOYMENT SO FAR

TIDZ – RECORD FIRST QUARTER AND HIGHEST EMPLOYMENT SO FAR

The highest economic activity was registered in the technological industrial zones in the first quarter of the year, both in terms of exports and imports, according to the regular monthly analysis of the TIDZ.

In the first quarter of 2022, exports from industrial zones reached 851.6 million euros, which is an increase of almost 10% compared to the same period last year and over 42% compared to 2020. Compared to the first quarter of 2019, the growth is 22.5%, and compared to 2018, the export activity in the first quarter increased by almost 55%.

On monthly basis, the total export from the zones in March reached 263 million euros, which is about 2% more compared to the same period last year.

In terms of imports, it is the highest level ever compared to the quarterly comparison in the past five years. Thus, the import in the first quarter of this year reached 744.6 million euros and is 1.5% higher than the first quarter last year, and even 35% higher compared to the first quarter in 2020. Compared to 2019, the increase is almost 18%, and compared to 2018, the import activity of companies in TIDZ in the first quarter has increased by over 52%. In the zones in March, the monthly import in TIDZ is at the level of 239 million, which is the same from last year. The analysis shows that in the third month of the year, a high level of net exports of 14.3% was registered.

The number of employees in March reached the highest level ever. 14,512 of our fellow citizens work in the companies in the TIDZ, which is almost 5% more compared to the same period last year, and compared to the beginning of the year alone, over 500 of our fellow citizens were employed in the companies in the TIDZ. The growth trend is expected to continue given that TIDZ in 2021 reached investment agreements totaling 188 million euros that should bring a total of 2,700 new jobs.

The analysis also shows that 90% of the companies in March have increased export activities compared to March 2021, which indicates stable production in a period of global challenges from the military aggression against Ukraine, as well as price movements in energy markets. Regular monthly analysis is one of the tools introduced in 2021 to monitor economic developments in the zones, in order to timely create and implement measures to deal with possible risks to the operations of companies.