Skopje, 2 January 2026 (MIA) – Around 17.400 jobs are expected to be formalized with the new Law on Work Engagement of Persons which entered into force on Thursday. The law allows people who are employed, unemployed, students, or pensioners to work seasonal and temporary jobs without losing their acquired benefits. 

“In the first phase, the law covers areas where the informal economy is most present – agriculture, forestry, fisheries, accommodation, hospitality, and household services. According to the conducted analyses, the law is expected to formalize up to 12.000 seasonal agricultural workers and around 5.400 unregistered workers in tourism, hospitality, and the service sector,” Minister of Economy and Labor Besar Durmishi said at a press conference on Friday.

Durmishi described the law as a fundamental reform of seasonal and temporary engagement of workers.

“The law introduces a more flexible and simpler model for the legal engagement of labor, with a clear legal framework and electronic procedures for registering and unregistering workers, and payment of contributions. The law enables people who are employed, unemployed, students, and pensioners to be engaged without losing their already acquired benefits. Beneficiaries of guaranteed minimum assistance will not lose their social or child benefits, the unemployed will not be removed from the registry and won’t lose their financial allowance, pensioners will not lose their right to pension, and students will retain their rights within the education system,” Durmishi said.

The Economy Minister said the formalization of the informal economy is one of the government’s top strategic commitments and a key segment of the reform agenda, since, he said, it directly affects the country’s economic growth, the stability of public finance, and the protection of workers.

According to the State Statistical Office, around 694.000 people were employed in the country in 2024, with an estimated 85.000 working informally.

Photo: MIA