Salaries are increasing, but Albanians are becoming "lazier"

2024-03-26 07:42:00, Ekonomi CNA

Employment indicators in the last 3 months of 2023 revealed worsening symptoms of laziness for the working-age population.

The official data of INSTAT show that in October-December of last year, inactivity in the labor market marked an annual increase of 3.1% in the population of the age group 15-64 years. This was the first increase after a downward trend in "lazing" rates since the first 3 months of 2021 (see chart below).

Over 464,055 people aged 15-64 are neither in work nor looking for work. This category expanded by over 15,000 people during one year, leading to growth a phenomenon that was rapidly decreasing due to the pressures brought by the increasing offers in the labor market.

More detailed data show that long-term unemployment has worsened significantly. In the third quarter of last year, about 73% of inactive persons in the labor market were long-term unemployed.

INSTAT reported that during the fourth quarter of 2023, 16.1% of the economically inactive and working-age population (15-64 years old) were fulfilling household duties, 9.2% of them were retired or early retired , while 12.6% in permanent disability.

In the same period, 4.6% of the economically inactive population (in the 15-64 age group) declared that they were not looking for work because they believed that there are 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 72.6% of economically inactive young people. Among economically inactive young people aged 15-29, 1.4% are classified as discouraged unemployed. In the population aged 30-64, this group constitutes 15.8% of the economically inactive population of this age group.

The non-economically active population includes all persons who are not classified as employed or unemployed (ie pupils/students, homemakers, retired, disabled, discouraged unemployed).

The increase of inactive persons in the labor market came at a time when labor markets are tense and some sectors such as tourism, construction, etc., are contracting foreign workers from Asia and Africa.

Wages increased

Labor market inactivity has increased despite workers being paid better. Other INSTAT data show that wages have risen steadily in recent years, driven by both the minimum wage and immigration pressure. Even the salaries of elementary professions are growing faster than those with higher education.

At the end of 2023, the average monthly salary for a salaried employee in the private sector was 69.4 thousand ALL, from 62.2 thousand ALL at the end of 2022, with an increase of almost 12%. While in the state, the average salary reached 87.8 thousand ALL, from 74.4 thousand ALL a year ago, or 18% more.

The official data from INSTAT show that in the last 3 months of the year, employees with elementary professions had the largest increase in nominal gross monthly salary by about 16% in the last quarter of 2023 compared to the last 3 months of of 2022.

The highest double-digit salary increases were also in the trade and services sector with around 15%. In these sectors, the majority of employees are represented by salespeople in the retail trade and by hotel and restaurant workers, mainly waiters, bartenders and cleaners.

Further, the highest growth has been present in the automotive industry sector and in the agriculture sector with over 13% from the fourth quarter of 2022 to the fourth quarter of 2023.

In contrast, the wages of highly educated and professional workers increased in the same period by 11%, while wages in the military sector had a lower increase of about 10.6%. Salaries in the armed forces had a higher increase in 2022./ Monitor magazine