GREEN TRANSITION AND LABOUR MARKET ADAPTATION IN NORTH MACEDONIA: AN ANALYTICAL ASSESSMENT
GREEN TRANSITION AND LABOUR MARKET ADAPTATION IN NORTH MACEDONIA: AN ANALYTICAL ASSESSMENT

Summary/Abstract: The green transition towards a green economy is reshapinglabour markets through changes in the employment structure, skill require-ments and sectoral composition. These effects are particularly significant forsmall and transition economies such as North Macedonia, where labour mar-ket adjustment is constrained by demographic decline, skills mismatches andstructural vulnerabilities. The paper analyses the implications of the greentransition and labour market adaptation in North Macedonia, focusing on em-ployment dynamics, sectoral shifts, skill needs and the gap between green jobpotential and existing brown-sector employment.The findings indicate that the green transition in North Macedonia isunfolding primarily through job transformation rather than net job creation,against a moderate shrinkage in total employment. Employment remainsmostly concentrated in carbon-intensive and transition-exposed sectors suchas manufacturing, construction, agriculture and mining, while growth is ob-served mainly in knowledge and service intensive activities that enable thegreen transition.The paper highlights a significant mismatch between projected greenjob creation and current labour market structure, underscoring the need fortargeted reskilling, inclusive labour market policies and just transition measures. The effective labour market adaptation is a central prerequisite for en-suring that the green transition contributes to sustainable, inclusive, and re-silient economic development in North Macedonia. The analysis is based ondescriptive statistical methods using sectoral employment data from the StateStatistical Office of North Macedonia (2019–2024), complemented by litera-ture and policy analysis.

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