The number of unemployed people in Albania has increased in the first quarter of the year, according to a National Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) report.
Albania’s unemployment rate reached 12.6% during the first months of the year. Only 59% of the population aged 15-64 was employed during this period.
Compared to the same period of 2020, the unemployment rate was 11.9% whereas 61.6% of the population was employed, the highest figures of the decade. It’s believed the dip in employment and rise in unemployment is attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic that saw thousands of businesses go bankrupt and many employees be laid off
The highest unemployment rate is observed in young people, age group 15-29 with 23.3%, while the age group 30-64 is just 9.1%.
Only 60.8% of people who reported working, pay insurance meaning the rest are working in the informal economy. Out of 1,139,197 self-employed persons, 692,772 of them pay contributions.
Albania is one of the European countries with the highest informality of the labor market and high youth inactivity, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO).
A high rate of youth not in education and training elevated levels of informal employment.
ILO urged Albania to pursue structural reforms aimed at reducing informality and increasing competitiveness and earnings from labor.
