According to the analysis made by the research team of ZMAI, the data show that the total number of newly unemployed people in 2020 compared to 2019 increased by 128%. Specifically, in 2020 there are 6783 new unemployed people. For comparison, in 2019 there were 2971. At the same time, the youth unemployment rate is significantly higher than in other years. As many as 15% of young people are part of the unemployed group.
The findings show that in almost all municipalities the number of newly unemployed people on the basis of signing out of the compulsory social insurance coming from the textile industry is increasing. The five municipalities with the highest increase in unemployment are Stip, Tetovo, Skopje, Prilep and Kumanovo. These five municipalities are actually one of the municipalities where the textile industry is most developed and has the most active entities in this sector. Among young people under 29, the number of unemployed is also rising. The five municipalities with the highest increase in youth unemployment are Stip, Strumica, Radovish, Prilep and Kocani.
The most common reason for termination of employment in the textile industry in the last 5 years is the expiration of the temporal contract for employment. In 2020, this basis increased by 123%. In this period, the highest growth for termination of the employment contract is present on the basis of dismissal of the employer and it is 174%.
The most common reason for termination of employment in the textile industry among young people up to 29 years, before and during the crisis is the expiration of the temporal contract for employment. The increase of this basis in 2020 compared to 2019 is 165.5%. However, the most dominant increase for termination of employment in 2020 compared to 2019, is the basis of dismissal from the employer with an increase of 234%, followed by the basis of dismissal of the employee with an increase of 225%.
The material was prepared within the project “Response to the socio-economic effects of COVID-19 by supporting vulnerable groups of low-paid workers, workers who are part of the informal economy and temporary workers” The project is implemented by a consortium of 6 organizations composed of the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Finance Think – Skopje; Association for Research and Analysis ZMAI – Skopje; Analytics – Skopje; Association “Glasen tekstilec” – Štip; Association for promotion and protection of workers’ rights “Dostoinstven Rabotnik” – Prilep; and Association for Rural Development LAG Agro Leader – Krivogaštani, with the financial support of the Foundation Open Society – Macedonia.
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25 February 2021