The Relationship between Entrepreneurship and Unemployment in Republic of North Macedonia

Rejhan Sulejman

In the last decade entrepreneurship has gained significant attention from both scientists and government, and it has been linked with economic growth and unemployment. After the economic crisis in 2008, one of the tools that Europe has been using to fight high unemployment has been entrepreneurship. In Macedonia, the main driver of the economy are private enterprises.99% of Macedonian companies classify as small and medium enterprises, and the number of SMEs is increasing year by year. According to the Agency for promotion of entrepreneurship in Republic of Macedonia, SMEs are great contributors to the country‟s economy and an important factor for creating new jobs, creating innovative products and services, the increase of exports and a greater promotion of domestic products on foreign markets. The objective of this paper is to explore the relationship between entrepreneurship and unemployment in Macedonia for the period between 2011 and 2017. Through empirical analyses we identify how the evolution of entrepreneurship has helped decrease unemployment in Macedonia through job creation, and what the different factors are that influence both entrepreneurship and unemployment.