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The market is "demanding" a minimum wage increase

Politiko 2025-06-12 11:52:37
The market is "demanding" a minimum wage increase
Illustrative photo

In the first quarter of last year, 25.8% of employees had salaries up to the minimum wage level, while in the first quarter of 2025 this percentage dropped to 12.4%.

This significant decline in low-wage workers indicates a real increase in the minimum wage and a shift of employees with official salaries towards higher levels, also reflecting the action against wage informality that was taken by taxes at the end of 2024.

The latest INSTAT data show a significant shift in the wage structure in Albania over the last year, with a clear trend towards moving away from the minimum wage. Data on the distribution of contributing employees by wage band shows a significant decrease in the percentage of those paid up to the minimum wage and a continuous increase in those paid in the higher bands.

While the low-wage classes have shrunk, there is a clear increase in the higher-wage groups.

The group of employees with salaries from 50,001 - 60,000 lekë has increased from 9.4% in the first quarter of 2024 to 12.8% of the total number of employees in the same quarter of 2025.

The group of employees with salaries of 60,001 - 95,000 lek decreased to 25.4 percent in the first quarter of 2025 from 27.0% in the first quarter of 2024. Employees at this salary level represent the largest group of employees with official salaries.

The percentage of employees with salaries above 95,000 lek has also increased, from 7.9% in the first quarter of 2024 to 13 percent in January-March 2025. This salary group experienced the highest annual increase of 5.1 percentage points out of all other salary groups.

Sectors such as agriculture, construction, and retail trade continue to be the lowest paid. Although there has been a nominal increase in salaries in these areas, the difference with the technology and finance sectors is significant.

Public administration and education have benefited from salary increases, mainly as a result of the government's budgetary policies and reforms announced to retain education and health professionals.

While wages are rising, this does not automatically translate into increased living standards, as nearly 30 percent of employment in the country is informal, paid minimum wages or less, and unpaid employment in family businesses is also a large category of employees in our country./ Monitor

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