The pandemic crisis left 43,000 people unemployed in 2020, according to official INSTAT data. According to INSTAT, at the end of the year, there were a total of 1.23 million employees in the country, from 1.27 million at the end of 2019.
INSTAT data from the Labor Force Survey show that the number of employees fell significantly in the first 6 months of the year (by about 50.000 people), while the quarantine blocked economic activity for almost three months. In the third quarter, after the opening of the country and tourism activity, employment improved significantly and over 30,000 people returned to work.
The positive effects of tourism in the third quarter faded in the last 3 months of the year. As a result, the fourth quarter has again brought a significant reduction in the number of employees in the country (-21 thousand compared to the third quarter), making the most difficult year since 1997 to close with about 43.000 fewer employees.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, the employment rate for the population aged 15-64 is 60.2%. During this quarter, compared to the same quarter of 2019, the total number of employees decreased by 3.4%, while compared to the third quarter of 2020, this indicator decreased by 2.2%, reported INSTAT.
The deterioration of employment indicators in the fourth quarter came despite the revival of consumption in this period, according to other INSTAT data.
Labor force participation decreases
For women, the labor force participation rate is 60.5%, while for men this indicator is 77.2%. For men, the labor force participation rate is 16.7 percentage points higher than for women. Compared to the same quarter of 2019, the labor force participation rate for women decreased by 1.4 percentage points and for men decreased by 0.5 percentage points.
During the fourth quarter of 2020, the labor force participation rate for young people aged 15-29 is 51.0%. For the population aged 30-64, in the fourth quarter of 2020, the labor force participation rate is 77.8%. Employment During the fourth quarter of 2020, the employment rate for the population aged 15-64 is 60.2%. The annual growth rate of employment for the population aged 15 and over, from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2020, is -3.4%.
In annual terms, employment decreased by 2.8% in the agricultural sector, by 5.3% in the services sector and by 0.5% in the industry sector. Compared to the previous quarter, in the fourth quarter of 2020, employment for the population aged 15 and over decreased by 2.2%. Employment increased in the industry and agriculture sector by 1.4% and 1.0%, respectively, while it decreased in the services sector by 6.4%.
The employment rate for men is 67.8%, while for women 52.9%. Compared to the same quarter of 2019, the employment rate for men decreased by 0.7 percentage points and for women decreased by 1.9 percentage points. The youth employment rate is 40.0%. For the population aged 30-64, in the fourth quarter of 2020, the employment rate is 70.7%.
Rising unemployment
In the fourth quarter of 2020, the official unemployment rate in Albania is 11.8%. In annual terms, the official unemployment rate increased by 0.6 percentage points. Compared to the previous quarter, the official unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points. The official unemployment rate for men is 11.7% and for women 12.1%. Compared to the same quarter of 2019, the unemployment rate for men increased by 0.4 percentage points, while for women it increased by 1.1 percentage points.
Unemployment for young people is rising
The official youth unemployment rate is 21.7%. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, the youth unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2020 is 0.3 percentage points higher. Compared to the third quarter of 2020, the youth unemployment rate has increased by 1.0 percentage points.
The unemployment rate for the 30-64 age group is 9.2%. In annual terms, this indicator has increased by 0.9 percentage points. Compared to the previous quarter for this age group, the unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points.
Laziness increases
During the fourth quarter of 2020, 18.2% of the economically inactive and working-age population (15-64 years) were fulfilling household chores, 11.4% of them were retired or early retirement, while 10,3% in permanent disability. During the fourth quarter of 2020, 11.4% of the economically inactive population (in the age group 15-64) stated that they were not looking for work because they believed that there were no jobs available, so they are classified as discouraged unemployed.
Young people aged 15-29 who declared that they are pupils/students or in training make up 68.1% of economically inactive young people. Among economically inactive youth aged 15-29, 10.3% are classified as discouraged unemployed. In the population aged 30-64 this group constitutes 12.7% of the economically inactive population of this age group./abcnews.al
