A Macedonian family needs a minimum of around 1,000 euros to be able to survive the month, and if they don't have their own home and pay rent, then they don't even have 73 thousand denars to cover basic expenses.
The gap between the income and the needs of the citizens has increased drastically in the past 14 years, but the most dramatic growth is in the last two years. In January 2022, the consumption basket amounted to MKD 35,811.(580 eurs) In January 2024, it exceeded MKD 57 thousand. That's a price increase of almost 60 percent in 24 months. At the same time, it should be noted that the structure of the basket has been changed since December 2023, and in the revised one, new costs have been introduced that were not part of the previous ones.
If it is taken into account that in November 2023, according to the latest calculations of the State Statistics Office, the average monthly net salary paid per employee was MKD 38,359, (620 euros) then a family of four, with only one employee, lacks over MKD 19,000 (310 euros) to can survive.
The minimum costs of over 73 thousand denars for a family living on rent can only be met on the condition that two people in the family work and receive a salary of about 36 thousand denars (600 eurs). Given that the minimum wage in the country is 20,175 denars (330 euros), money is only available for food and overhead costs, and there is rarely a denar left over to meet other needs.
For comparison, in December 2010, when the Union of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM) first published data on the trade union basket, it weighed 29,199 denars (500 euros), and the December average net salary was 21,454 denars (350 euros). The difference between the basket and the average salary 14 years ago was MKD 7,745.(125 euros)
