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 the first quarter of 2023, the youth unemployment rate  25.7%, according to data of the State Statistical Office. However, in the third quarter of 2023, the youth unemployment rate was 24.0%, according to the release from the State Statistical Office. 

According to the same source, in the third quarter of 2023, the labour force in the Republic of North Macedonia numbered

1 516 001 people, of which  102 134 were unemployed and  692 768 were employed. The activity rate this period was 52.6%, the employment rate among youth was 33.0%, while the unemployment rate was 24.0, which is more than in the first quarter of 2023 (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).