North Macedonia’s government revises 2019 budget to boost job creation

North Macedonia’s government revises 2019 budget to boost job creation

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and Minister of Finance Nina Angelovska announced the first revision of North Macedonia's 2019 budget. / vlada.mk

By bne IntelliNews September 3, 2019

The government of North Macedonia revised the 2019 state budget on September 3, keeping the deficit at 2.5% of GDP.

The revision, the first of this year's budget, will distribute more money for financial support for businesses, to help them create new jobs and pay higher wages in the private sector.

Total revenues are planned at the level of MKD210.5bn (€3.4bn), while the total expenditures are set at MKD228.3bn, making a deficit of MKD17.7bn.

The government raised its projection for GDP growth in 2019 to 3.5% from 3.2%.

The budget revision aims to allocate funds in sectors where greater economic effects can be achieved, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said.

The government allocated €6.5mn to subsidise private companies to increase monthly salaries up to MKD6,000 (€97.6). The measure that will affect 610,000 people employed in the private sector will take effect starting from October and will be implemented in the next three years.

"If a private firm decides to increase wages from MKD600 to MKD6,000 it will be subsidised, meaning that it will pay only personal income tax for employees while the state will pay the pension and health insurance contributions," Zaev said.

Zaev promised a wage increase of €500 by the end of the mandate in 2020. Currently the average net wage is around €410.

The revision envisages cutting capital investments by €50mn to €370mn by the end of 2019.

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