Industry in Macedonia is quietly running out of workers, and most of all where we can least afford it - in mining. The numbers are out, but the question they raise is one hardly anyone wants to say out loud.

According to State Statistical Office data published on July 3, the number of people employed in industry in the January-May 2026 period fell by 3 percent compared to the same period last year. The biggest drop is in mining and quarrying - minus 7.3 percent, followed by manufacturing with a 2.5 percent decline. The only bright exception is the energy supply sector, which posts a slight 1 percent rise.

The decline isn't confined to one corner of the economy - it spreads across almost every category. There are fewer workers in the production of capital goods, in durable and non-durable consumer goods, in intermediate goods and in energy goods. When an economy is losing workers on so many fronts at once, that's not a random fluctuation but a trend worth taking seriously.

And behind the 7.3 percent figure in mining lies the wider story of missed chances. For years Macedonia has talked about new investment in the mining sector - projects like the mine near Ilovica-Štuka - that end up stuck between permits, protests and political indecision. The result is a sector that's weakening, losing workers and investors at the same time, while the neighbors pull in the very money that passes right by our door.

The question the statistics don't answer is simple: where are those workers going? Some probably move into services, some abroad, where thousands leave every year anyway. When industry - the foundation of any real economy - is drained of workers, that's not a number for a footnote in a report but a signal that something in the model isn't working. And while the authorities boast about stability, the statistics are quietly writing a different story.