Lezha and Durrës with the highest employment rate, Kukësi and Gjirokastra with the lowest

The rapidly declining population as a result of high emigration and rapidly declining fertility is making a strong impact on the labor market.

All sectors of the economy are sounding the alarm about workers, but in some counties the declining population is leading to zero unemployment.

For example, in the two most peripheral regions of the country, in Kukës and Gjirokastër, unemployment is on the verge of extinction, because the population of these regions consists mainly of people of retirement age.

INSTAT data show that in the first quarter of 2022, Durrës and Lezha were the two counties with the highest unemployment rates respectively 16.1% and 22.7% at a time when the average national unemployment rate in this quarter was 11.3%.

On the other hand, Gjirokastra and Kukes had the lowest unemployment rate at around 4%. Low unemployment in the Kukes region comes as a paradox, as according to official data it is the poorest region in the country and over 70% of the economy is dominated by agriculture.

The regions of Kukes and Gjirokastra have been rapidly depopulated by high emigration and inward movements. The World Bank's analysis of employment performance in the Western Balkans has found that the reduction of unemployment in Albania is largely due to high emigration.

The unemployment rate in the first quarter has experienced the highest annual increase in the Dibra region. In this region, the unemployment rate was 14.8%, from 23.6% in the first quarter of 2021.

The largest decrease in unemployment was observed in the district of Vlora with over 8% compared to last year.

Unemployment data in 12 regions show that 5 of them (Lezha, Durres, Vlora, Dibra, Tirana) have the indicator above the national average, while in seven other regions the unemployment indicator is below the national average.

The working age population has been declining rapidly in recent years, and this will lead to lower labor supply. Last year, the working age population fell by 32,000 or 1.6%, the strongest decline in the entire transition period.

Në një studim të fundit mbi potencialet e zhvillimit të sektorit privat në Shqipëri Banka Botërore evidentoi se forca e punës dhe mungesa aftësive janë shndërruar në një pengesë serioze për zgjerimin e biznesit. Sipërmarrjet shqiptare identifikojnë mungesën e punëtorëve të kualifikuar si pengesën e tretë më të madhe me të cilat përballen. Kërkesa për punëtorë me arsim të lartë është rritur gjatë dekadës së fundit dhe është në rritje, por shumë biznese pohuan se kishin vështirësi në gjetjen e punëtorëve me aftësi specifike teknike.

Mungesa e punëtorëve është një pengesë veçanërisht serioze për kompanitë e huaja që duan të investojnë në Shqipëri.

Foreign-owned firms operating in Albania identified finding skilled workers as their second most important challenge. Emigration is likely to further reduce the number and quality of skills of the workforce, weakening Albania's attractiveness as a destination in the labor-intensive sectors.

The World Bank suggests that Albania should move away from foreign investment policies focused on low-cost labor and adopt a new strategy based on utilizing public investment in technical education, attracting efficient FDI, and have higher productivity./Monitor