What is the unemployment rate in Albania?

Today is May 1, International Workers' Day. A day that finds Albania facing a significant shortage of labor, which has placed not only the private sector, but also the state in serious difficulties. This is due to unstoppable emigration, especially in recent years.

Official data shows a decline in unemployment in the country, an indicator that at the end of last year dropped to 8.8%, the lowest level in recent years.

But does this figure show the real number of unemployed people in Albania?

Actually, no, and this is for three reasons that are not taken into account in the official INSTAT figure: First, the decrease in the population due to emigration means that there are fewer unemployed people in the country and, consequently, unemployment falls. Second, not all unemployed people go to employment offices to register. This means that we have informal unemployment, which is not counted. The third factor is the situation in the countryside. According to the law, every person who lives in the countryside and owns a plot of land is considered self-employed, regardless of whether they work it or derive income from it.

Unemployment in Albania is more prevalent among women than men and mainly among young people.

According to the data, 82.2% of men work today, compared to 69.1% of women. But the latter are also engaged in family work, for the well-being of the home and children, in what is known as unpaid work. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate among young people aged 15-29 reaches 19.1%, which shows that young people face continuous challenges in finding stable jobs.

How does the lack of workers manifest itself in the market and which industries feel it the most?

Almost all branches of the economy are facing a human resources crisis. The most problematic is the situation in the tourism; services; manufacturing; agriculture and construction sectors.

But despite rising wages or the market's continued demand for labor, there is a portion of the population that does not want to work, and this is called inactive unemployment. (A2 Televizion)