The Republic of North Macedonia, since its independence, has suffered from a high rate of unemployment. Unfortunately, the most vulnerable category are young people. The rate of youth unemployment since the independence of North Macedonia (1991) was consistently over 50% until 2015 when for the first time it dropped below 50%. In 2023, the youth unemployment rate is currently at 25.7%, according to data of the State Statistical Office.

According to the same source, in the I quarter of 2023, the labour force in the Republic of North Macedonia numbered 787.645 persons, of which  683.242 were employed, while 104.403  were unemployed persons. The activity rate in this period was 52%, the employment rate was 45.1%, while the unemployment rate was 13.3%.

With aim to achieve higher employability of young people, the Government in the recent year is working on new measures through a combination of employment, education and social assistance policies (more in the next chapters).