Hiring in North Macedonia: Employer Costs, Labor Laws and How to Hire

How to hire in North Macedonia

Hiring in North Macedonia comes down to two decisions: who you hire, and how you employ them.

1. Find the person. Write the role, set the salary against local pay levels, then source and interview candidates. You can run the search yourself with a job post, or use a placement service that delivers a shortlist.
2. Choose how to employ them. A local entity running payroll, an employer of record or a contractor agreement. Each option is explained below.
3. Make the offer. The employment contract has to cover the terms in the employment table above, including the basic salary in money and the working time.

Your options for employing someone in North Macedonia

• Local entity: you register a company in North Macedonia, run payroll, and calculate, withhold and pay contributions and personal income tax to the Public Revenue Office (UJP). It suits a team of several people in the country.
• Employer of record (EOR): a third-party provider becomes the legal employer and runs local payroll for a monthly fee per employee. Your company directs the work.
• Contractor: the person invoices you through their own business. The relationship has to be genuinely independent, or it can count as employment.

Euro Remote Talent does not employ people on your behalf. We handle the placement: we find and shortlist the candidate, and you employ them through the route that fits.

What an employee costs in North Macedonia

In North Macedonia the employee is the payer of all social contributions. The employer calculates them, withholds them from gross pay and pays them with the personal income tax. So the employer adds nothing on top of the gross salary. Take a gross salary of MKD 80,000 a month, with the rates from 1 July 2026:

• Pension and disability insurance: MKD 80,000 x 19.9% = MKD 15,920
• Health insurance: MKD 80,000 x 7.5% = MKD 6,000
• Work injury and occupational disease: MKD 80,000 x 0.5% = MKD 400
• Unemployment insurance: MKD 80,000 x 0.1% = MKD 80

Contributions total MKD 22,400. The tax base is MKD 80,000 minus MKD 22,400 minus the MKD 10,932 monthly tax deduction, which is MKD 46,668. Personal income tax at 10% is MKD 4,666.80, so the net salary is MKD 52,933.20. The employer's cost is the gross salary, MKD 80,000 a month. Contributions are paid on at least MKD 34,570.50 and at most MKD 1,106,256 a month in 2026, by our calculation from the MKD 69,141 average wage UJP uses for 2026.

Minimum wage and pay

North Macedonia has a statutory national minimum wage. It is adjusted each year under the law, and the Government said on 2 March 2026 that the 2026 amount applies from the March salary, paid in April. The average gross salary was MKD 73,336 in August 2026 and the average net salary MKD 48,733, according to the State Statistical Office. See our average salary in North Macedonia page, and the North Macedonia public holidays 2027 page for days off.

Income tax in North Macedonia

Personal income tax is a flat 10% on employment income. The employer withholds it each month after contributions and the monthly tax deduction:

The deduction is set by the Minister of Finance before each year and published by UJP.

Work permits

North Macedonia is not in the European Union, so EU free movement rules do not apply there. Work and residence permits for foreign nationals are set by national law. Check the current rules with the authorities before you make an offer.

How Euro Remote Talent can help

We do placement. We source, screen and interview remote professionals across Europe, then deliver a shortlist of 3 candidates within 21 days for a flat $6,500, or your deposit back. Prefer to run the search yourself? Post a job for $299 and reach candidates who want to work remotely.

See how placement works, post a job or book a 30-minute call. Browse remote jobs in North Macedonia to see who is hiring there now.