Unemployment in Macedonia

The Employment Service Agency of the Republic of North Macedonia, known as ESA or Агенција за вработување на Република Северна Македонија, and its Employment Centers handle unemployment registration and employment services according to permanent residence. A person registers in person with an identity card and the original diploma or certificate. Previous employment is not required for registration or access to basic employment services. Active jobseekers and benefit recipients usually report in person every 30 days and show evidence of active job search; other registered jobseekers usually report every six months. Missing the required appointment can lead to removal from the register. Registration is generally not required for health insurance, except for people receiving unemployment benefits during the benefit period. The reason employment ended affects access to unemployment benefits. Eligibility generally requires at least nine uninterrupted months of insurance or twelve months with interruptions during the previous eighteen months. The application must be filed at the Employment Center for the place of permanent residence within 30 days after employment ends. A late application starts payment from the application date and does not extend the remaining benefit period. The benefit normally lasts from one month for nine to eighteen months of insurance up to twelve months for more than 25 years of insurance. The law also provides a special six-month period for women over 60 and men over 62 with more than 15 years of insurance and no more than 18 months remaining until an old-age pension, subject to the applicable employment and benefit exclusions. The amount is generally 50% of average net pay during the previous 24 months for up to twelve months, and 40% for any remaining period, subject to a ceiling of 80% of the national average net wage for the previous month. A person can lose or be denied the benefit after voluntary resignation, an agreement ending employment, certain unlawful wage or employment-law advantages, the statutory end of employment except in the case of an insolvent legal entity, dismissal for work-related or disciplinary misconduct, refusal of assigned work or training, loss of work capacity, entitlement to a pension, starting a company or beginning craft, professional or other business activity. Benefit recipients must report work and other status changes, actively seek work, attend ESA interviews, sign and follow an Individual Employment Plan, and not perform unauthorized work. The plan is agreed by ESA and the unemployed person, sets goals and activities, identifies active measures and possible work locations, and remains valid for six months before it can be changed. Unreasonable refusal of suitable work, an active measure, public works or the agreed plan can affect registration or payment. Work, retirement, craft activity, professional activity or agricultural activity can also create a status risk, and a foreign national may be removed from the register when a personal work permit expires. Unemployment benefits can be suspended or interrupted when the recipient starts work or another activity, joins public works for more than 30 days, performs voluntary military service, is held in pre-trial detention or prison for up to six months, or stays abroad for up to twelve months after notifying ESA. A request to resume payment must generally be submitted within three days. A benefit can also be suspended on request for an absence abroad of more than 30 and up to 90 days for family reunification or treatment or care of a close relative, with the same three-day resumption deadline. ESA provides free employment mediation in North Macedonia and abroad, professional orientation through tests, interviews and labour-market information, Job Clubs with job-search planning and workshops, and access to employment programs. Programs may include self-employment, employment subsidies, employment preparation, training with a known employer, training for occupations in demand, advanced information-technology training, internships, business-start-up education, public works and loan-financed self-employment. Access depends on the eligibility conditions and public call for the individual program. The Youth Guarantee applies to people up to 29 who are not employed and not in education or training, known as NEET; after registration as active jobseekers, they should receive suitable work, education or an active measure within four months under the national implementation plan. Households without sufficient income can apply for guaranteed minimum assistance, or GMA, at the local Center for Social Work for their place of residence. The Center assesses the household's average income during the previous three months, available property and property rights, and household composition. The calculation starts from a base of MKD 4,000 and uses equivalence coefficients for additional household members, up to five members, with consumer-price adjustments. Unemployed household members generally have to register with ESA within 30 days and follow their Individual Employment Plan, subject to exceptions such as regular schooling, incapacity for work, pregnancy during the month before birth, caring for a child up to nine months, age 60 or more, employment, farming or craft and professional activity. Two consecutive unjustified refusals of an Individual Employment Plan, an active measure or mediation can end GMA, and unjustified refusal of public works can exclude a person for twelve months. Short-term and seasonal work can be arranged through e-Employment. The employer registers before work begins, particularly for agriculture, forestry and fishing, accommodation and food services, and household activities. A registered unemployed person generally keeps acquired unemployment-insurance entitlement and register status, although payment may be suspended under the benefit rules. The payment for this work generally does not remove other statutory rights. North Macedonia's unemployment rate was 12.4% in the 2024 Labour Force Survey, while the fourth quarter recorded 94,795 unemployed people and an 11.9% rate. The ESA register recorded 90,278 people on 31 December 2025; these register figures and Labour Force Survey estimates measure different populations and should not be treated as identical.