Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of

Macedonian Human Resource Association (MHRA) - Candidate member

Other information

President (Non-Executive):	Darko Madzoski E-mail: darkoeapmdotmadzoskieapmatprofil-groupeapmdotcomeapmdotmk
Executive Director:	Kiril Minoski E-mail : kirilminoskieapmatbaheapmdotcomeapmdotmk Tel: + 389 70 226 756
Date Association Founded:	2009
National Unions' Association:	Macedonian Federation of Trade Unions www.ssm.org.mk Confederation of free trade unions of Macedonia www.kss.mk
Government Employment Office:	Employment Service Agency of Republic of Macedonia E-mail: directoreapmatzvrmeapmdotgoveapmdotmk www.zvrm.gov.mk Ministry of Labor and Social Policy E-mail: mtspeapmatmtspeapmdotgoveapmdotmk www.mtsp.gov.mk
Total Number Of Members:	100
Membership Categories:	Individual
Title of Primary Publication and Frequency of Issue:	Newsletter of the MHRA – bimonthly Language: Macedonian, English
Annual National Conference Dates:	10 September 2010

Macedonia 2009

Real GDP growth: Approx. 1.2 % (2009 IV); forecast 2.0 % for 2010
Inflation rate: -0.8 % ( 2009); 1 % (forecast 2010)
Trends: Macedonia was able to cushion the impact of the worldwide economic downturn in 2009 due in part to its macroeconomic policies. According to the IMF, these prudent fiscal and monetary policies, and the exchange rate paid to the euro, helped Macedonia stabilize its economy and bring confidence back by the second half of 2009

Chief of state: President Gjorge IVANOV (since 12 May 2009)
Head of government: Prime Minister Nikola GRUEVSKI (since 26 August 2006)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the majority vote of all the deputies in the Assembly; note - current cabinet formed by the government coalition parties VMRO/DPMNE, BDI/DUI, and several small parties
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); two-round election: first round held on 22 March 2009, second round held on 5 April 2009 (next to be held in March 2014); prime minister elected by the Assembly
Macedonia continues to have its sights set on starting membership negotiations with the EU and NATO that should contribute in the economic prosperity of the country
The major issues are further improvement of the public administration efficiency, enforcement of the legislation, export promotion strategy; continue to support improvements in the public procurement capacity.

Total labor force: 928 775 persons
Unemployment rate: Overall unemployment 32.2 % (2009),
Number of unemployed: 298 873; in accordance with the Labor Force Survey almost 87000 unemployed registered are not active job seekers, estimates are the real unemployment rate is between 20-23 %
Skills shortages: Skills shortages ongoing in the area of engineering experienced sales professionals and IT.
There is trend and government incentives towards development of the knowledge base economy and introduction of the educational curricula that will support this process

The Labor Code adopted in 2005 (adaptation of the law has provided a solid ground for more flexible labor market)
Low on the Agencies for Temporary Employment adopted in 2005 provided the opportunity for using of the flexible forms of employment (part time work)
The Employment Service Agency was transformed towards more proactive labor market institution, implementing the advanced ICT tools for promoting of the active labor market policies, electronic communication with job seekers and employers and for facilitation of the job mediation process
New government initiatives: Major issues on the agenda: health care system, educational system reforms and development of the e-Society
Trends to notice: Promotion of the Voluntary Pension Insurance, workforce development, establishing of the professional HR certificates, standardization of the process of informal education and promotion of the lifelong learning.

Social security contribution: By January 2011 the pension insurance contribution will drop to 15%, the health insurance contribution will drop to 6%, and the unemployment insurance contribution will drop to 1%.
Tax rate: Income tax 10 % ; Profit Tax 10%, VAT 18 %, Education and training services are VAT free.

Source:
State Statistical Office www.stat.gov.mk, Employment Service Agency www.avrm.gov.mk, National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia www.nbrm.gov.mk, Agency for foreign investment in Republic of Macedonia www.investinmacedonia.com