In the first five months of this year a total of 4,907 companies were established in Serbia, which is four percent more than in the same period in 2009, the Serbian Development Bureau has announced, reports Tanjug news agency.

From January to May 2010, a total of 1,367 companies were shut down, up by 1.6% than in the same period last year.

A total of 16,706 new stores were established during the same period, which is less by two percent than in the first five months of last year, and 15,609 stores shut down, which is higher by 6.8% than over the same period in 2009.

According to the Bureau, a total of 89,658 enterprises operated in Serbia in 2009, of which 88,697 were small and medium-sized enterprises and 961 large companies.

At the end of 2009, companies in Serbia employed 1,058,039 people, of which 608,353 worked in the small and medium-sized enterprises, while for large companies, the number totaled to 450,186.

In 2009 compared to 2008, the number of employees in enterprises was reduced by 59,845, down by 5.4%, while the number of companies was cut by 68, or by 0.1%.