Key problems/needs Sample Clauses

Key problems/needs. The country is facing challenges in the employment area with low employment-to-population ratio and high unemployment rate of population 15-64 - 22.5% (2017). The rate of activity of population aged 15-64 is 65.3% in 2017, with discrepancy of 26.7 p.p among men and women (78.4% -men, and 51,7% - women). The employment rate is low down to 50.5% (60.5% for men and 40.3 for woman). The proportion of long-term unemployment is high (17.4%) and 56.4% of the long-term unemployed persons remain unemployed for more than 4 years.2 The unemployment rate of young people (15-29) decreased to 39.2% of the youth labour force in 2017, from much higher rates in 2013. Youth unemployment is particularly higher for uneducated or low educated young people compared to those with completed secondary and tertiary education. The most frequent occupations are the ones which require workers with secondary education. In 2016 136,000 young (15-29) are classified as NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or Training). Of these, 80,000 young people were unemployed (but less than 30 per cent were registered with the Employment Service Agency) and 56,000 were inactive. Young women are more likely to be NEETs (34% women compared to 22.7% men). There are regional disparities as the young NEETs rate is the highest in the Northeast (40.7 per cent), followed by the Polog (37.6 per cent) and Southwest region (34.7 per cent). Polog region has the highest inactive NEETs rate, followed by the Skopje, Northeast and Southwest regions. Inactive NEETs are predominantly women. Long-term unemployed represent the largest share of NEETs (43.4 per cent), followed by a 26.2 per cent of youth with family and care responsibilities. NEETs are more represented in the 25-29 age brackets, among women and with completed secondary education. Discouraged and long-term NEETs are predominantly men, while family responsibilities are almost exclusively borne by young women. In these circumstances, the challenges, among others, that the labour market must face are the following:  Addressing inactivity and unemployment among the most vulnerable categories of persons, such as youth, and especially the young NEETs, long-term and unskilled unemployed people, and  Further strengthening of the capacities and improving the quality of work and services of the public employment services  Adapting the educational system to the needs of the labour market, with a special focus on strengthening the quality and performance of the VET ...