abstract: 'The Republic of Macedonia has since its independence made great progress

  in terms of economic reform and social development; prompted often by

  the county''s aspiration to become part of the European Union. However,

  in spite of these advances, weak labour market indicators in particular

  among females remains a great concern and a persisting challenge for the

  country. Based on official data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS)

  conducted by the State Statistical Office (SSO) for the case of the

  Republic of Macedonia, the aim of this study is to examine the

  development of female unemployment in the past decade (2004-2013) in the

  Republic of Macedonia from a multi-dimensional perspective. This while

  comparing national trends with other Balkan countries already in the EU

  using LFS data provided by Eurostat. Findings show that the female

  unemployment rate in the R. Macedonia is moving in the right direction

  with a decreasing trend throughout the observed period with drop of 8.8

  percent point from 2004 to 2013 (observed at 29\% in 2013). Compared to

  Balkan countries in the EU, findings show that the R. Macedonia has been

  performing relatively better than these countries, who have all

  experienced negative fluctuations in female unemployment rates in the

  observed period with rates at higher levels compared to 2004.

  Furthermore, the findings show no evidence of inequality between male

  and female unemployment rates in the country, however notable

  disparities are evident when observing unemployment among various age

  groups and the level of education attainment. The paper concludes with

  clear policy recommendations for boosting female employment to include

  increasing female access to education and entrepreneurial programs,

  increased access to childcare, etc.'
affiliation: 'Rakipi, R (Corresponding Author), South East European Univ Tetovo, Fac
  Business \& Econ, Tetovo, Macedonia.

  Rakipi, Remzije; Syla, Shpresa, South East European Univ Tetovo, Fac Business \&
  Econ, Tetovo, Macedonia.'
author: Rakipi, Remzije and Syla, Shpresa
author-email: 'r.rakipi@seeu.edu.mk

  s.syla@seeu.edu.mk'
author_list:
- family: Rakipi
  given: Remzije
- family: Syla
  given: Shpresa
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.14706/JECOSS16619
eissn: 1986-8502
files: []
issn: 1986-8499
journal: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL STUDIES
keywords: Labour market; female unemployment; unemployment; employment
language: English
month: FAL
number: '2'
number-of-cited-references: '18'
pages: 57-78
papis_id: 18e575516f027c7ea8182397a7032395
ref: Rakipi2016trendschallenges
times-cited: '0'
title: 'Trends and Challenges of Female Unemployment in the Republic of Macedonia:
  A Regional Comparative Study'
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000423918800004
usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
usage-count-since-2013: '2'
volume: '6'
web-of-science-categories: Business
year: '2016'