The war aggression against Vukovar in 1991 caused war damage to the economy of the city amounting to 4.6 billion kuna, while the war damage to economic infrastructure is estimated at an additional 2.3 billion kuna, according to data from the Vukovar city administration.
Before the Homeland War, out of a total of 46,543 residents of Vukovar, 27,634 were employed, of which 56.8 percent worked in industry, 8.2 percent in trade, and the remaining in other activities. About 65 percent of the total number of employees found their jobs within large economic entities such as Borovo, VUPIK, and Vuteks, which contributed 84.7 percent to the social product of the then municipality of Vukovar.
Seventeen years after the Homeland War and significant war devastation, according to the last census, 31,670 residents live in the city of Vukovar today, of which 10,989 are employed, and there are about 6,000 retirees. Compared to 2007, the number of employed in 2008 increased by about five hundred, and compared to 2006, by about 2,200 newly employed persons. However, the average salary in Vukovar in 2007 was only 3,056 kuna, which is about seventy percent of the national average.
Of the large pre-war economic entities, the former economic giant Borovo, which employed about 18,000 workers, now employs about 700, Vuteks went into liquidation after bankruptcy, while VUPIK employs about 900 workers. Although the economy is recovering slowly, the business operations of Vukovar’s economic entities have recorded positive trends in recent years, according to the city administration. Total revenues in the first six months of 2008, according to data from the city Department of Economy, increased by 11.9 percent compared to the same period in 2007, net salaries by 7.2 percent, and the number of employees by 6.5 percent.
