The unemployment rate in Macedonia has decreased from its peak of nearly 40 percent to 27.6 percent over the past several years, said the country's Minister of Labor and Social Policy on Thursday during a conference held here.

While this might be good news, one of the main challenges southeastern Europe faces is the high rate of unemployment in the context of the current economic slump, a much-discussed topic during the two-day regional conference here on employment and social inclusion in southeastern Europe and Turkey.

The average unemployment rate in this area is more than 20 percent, according to Ayse Cihan Sultanoglu, United Nations development program regional director for Europe.

As for Macedonia, the government has taken concrete steps and helped around 36,500 people acquire jobs between 2007 and 2014. Academic education has been adjusted to meet the needs of modern society, and the government plans to take measures to assist young people, especially those under age 29, to find a job in their home country, said Dime Spasov, Macedonian Minister of Labor and Social Policy.

Job creation requires government to introduce favorable policies to boost economic growth, either in a credit-fuelled and investment-led pattern, or a model stimulated by domestic demand, local media reported conference experts as saying. Endit

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