Election effect, employment in the state reaches record in the first quarter

2025-06-26 07:18:00, Aktualitet CNA

In the first quarter of 2024, the number of employees in the state sector reached 185,387 people, a record since 2018.

Even though the population during this period decreased by over 500 thousand people and many public services are now online, the public administration is swelling year after year, especially on the eve of elections.

Official INSTAT data show that public sector employment increased by 2% in January-March 2025 compared to the same period last year. The data from the graph shows that in election quarters, employment in the state experiences a significant increase.

From 172.9 thousand employees in the state sector in the first quarter of 2019, they reached 185.4 thousand in the first quarter of 2025 or +7.3% more.

Over the past few years from 2019 to 2023, public sector employment grew by around 1.2–1.5% per year. But in the election year 2025, the growth for just one quarter is 2.0%, much higher than the average annual rate. This points to a stronger hiring trend in the run-up to parliamentary elections.

Local and central administrations traditionally add temporary positions, with this increase occurring in the quarter leading up to elections. This is not a new practice in the Albanian political context, where new state jobs are occasionally used to generate electoral support.

The number of employees in the state sector in Albania has increased by around 12,500 people in the last six years, while the country's population shrank by over 500,000 people or 17 percent between 2018-2023.

Historically in Albania, increasing jobs in the administration has been considered a means to consolidate political support, especially on the eve of elections.

The state sector offers not only high employment security, but also local influence through education, health and municipal institutions, which constitute a wide employment network in districts, where the public sector is the largest employer./ Monitor.al