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The number of "employed" people, according to the official definition, increased by 22 thousand people in 2024 compared to 2023. But 40% of new employees belong to a category known as "in family business (unpaid)".
The number of employed people in Albania reached 1,177,245 people in 2024, an increase of nearly 22 thousand people compared to 2023, according to data published by the Institute of Statistics in its annual publication on the labor market. [Link]
But about 24% of all employees belong to a category known as "family business employees" and are not paid a salary, while among the 2024 additions, the share of unpaid employees was 40%.
The Institute of Statistics uses the European Union methodology for defining who is employed and who is unemployed, as well as those who are considered "economically inactive" such as students or people who simply do not want to work.
According to this classification, there were almost 1.18 million employees in Albania, of which 537 thousand were salaried, 355 thousand self-employed, and 285 thousand were unpaid.
One in four citizens between the ages of 15 and 64 fall into the category of inactive population.
The self-employed include citizens who have an economic activity themselves, with or without other employees, as well as farmers, who, regardless of their income level and, in practice, regardless of whether they actually work the land, are classified as self-employed. As a result of this definition, the poorest regions of the country, which typically have the lowest degree of urbanization and where the majority of the population lives in rural areas, have, in theory, the highest labor force participation rates and the lowest unemployment rates.
Nationally, 37% of "employed" are in the agricultural sector, with a slight decrease compared to 2023. Albania is the absolute record country on the European continent for the percentage of the population in the agricultural sector. The European average is around 4%.
The most shocking figure from the report is the number of women employed without pay by the family. According to INSTAT data, both men and women are employed to a significant extent in family businesses, but women in this category are “1.5 times” more likely than men to be employed.
In 2024, 32.2% of all “employed” women fell into this category, compared to 17.6% of men. This means that almost one in three “employed” women does not receive a salary.
In addition to the higher rate of unpaid employment, women are more affected by unemployment according to official measurements and account for the largest share of the economically inactive population.
About 62.4% of women aged 15-64 are employed, 10.0% are unemployed and 30.7% are outside the labor force, according to INSTAT. Of the 62.4% employed, one in three is “unpaid family worker.” Consequently, less than 40% of women have their own income from work./BIRN
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