Some of the measures included in our arrangement have increased unemployment. We had to sell or shut down 12 large loss makers. Another 30 are to be sold or closed. We have pared more than 3000 workers off the state administration payroll. But this is a drop in the unemployment bucket.
Unemployment is over-stated.
Albanian women often refuse to work but register as unemployed to get the attendant benefits. Still, unemployment is way too high. GDP needs to grow consistently over at least five years to make a dent. The private sector and its small and medium-size enterprises should be the engine of growth. But the private sector in Macedonia has stagnated.