Population decline reduces unemployment, the indicator drops to 8.8% in November-December 2024

2025-03-12 16:07:00, Ekonomi CNA

Population decline reduces unemployment, the indicator drops to 8.8% in

New data on the labor market revealed a different picture for 2024, as a result of the integration of 2023 census data into the methodology that measures employment and unemployment performance.

INSTAT announced today that unemployment fell in the last quarter of 2024 to 8.8% from 10.77% in 2023.

After the completion of the 2023 Census, INSTAT integrated the new population data into the Labor Force Survey. The population decrease of about 420 thousand inhabitants between 2011-2023 has brought "artificial" changes in many economic indicators, including unemployment, per capita income, etc.

INSTAT reported today that the official unemployment rate in Albania, in the fourth quarter of 2024, for the population 15 years of age and older, is 8.8%, marking an annual decrease of 0.8 percentage points and a quarterly increase of 0.7 percentage points.

The labor force participation rate, in the fourth quarter of 2024 for the population aged 15-64, is 75.5% with an annual increase of 1.2 percentage points and a quarterly decrease of 0.4 percentage points.

For women, the labor force participation rate is 69.1%, while for men it is 82.2%. For men, the labor force participation rate is 13.1 percentage points higher than for women.

Compared to the same quarter of 2023, the labor force participation rate for women increased by 0.7 percentage points, and for men by 1.8 percentage points.

During the fourth quarter of 2024, the labor force participation rate for young people aged 15-29 is 53.6%.

This indicator has increased by 2.0 percentage points, compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, and has decreased by 2.4 percentage points compared to the third quarter of 2024. For the population aged 30-64, in the fourth quarter of 2024, the labor force participation rate is 83.9%.

Industry and services as employment drivers

During the fourth quarter of 2024, the employment rate for the population aged 15-64 is 68.3%. The number of employed people for the population aged 15 and over, from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the fourth quarter of 2024, has increased by 1.8%.

INSTAT reported that in annual terms, employment increased by 1.0% in the agricultural sector, by 3.6% in the industrial sector and by 1.5% in the services sector.

Compared to the previous quarter, in the fourth quarter of 2024, employment for the population aged 15 and over decreased by 1.7%. Employment decreased by 2.3% in the agricultural sector, by 0.9% in the services sector and by 2.4% in the industrial sector.

More people want to work

The employment rate for men in the 15-64 age group is 74.9%, while for women it is 61.9%. Compared to the same quarter of 2023, the employment rate has increased for men by 2.8 percentage points and for women by 0.4 percentage points.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the youth employment rate is 43.4%. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, the youth employment rate has increased by 2.7 percentage points and compared to the third quarter of 2024, it has decreased by 2.7 percentage points. For the population aged 30-64, in the fourth quarter of 2024, the employment rate is 77.8%.

Unemployment falling

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the official unemployment rate in Albania, for the population aged 15 and over, is 8.8%. The unemployment rate has decreased by 0.8 percentage points, compared to the same quarter of 2023, and has increased by 0.7 percentage points, compared to the previous quarter.

The unemployment rate for men is 8.0% and for women 9.6%. Compared to the same quarter of 2023, the unemployment rate has increased by 0.1 percentage points for women, while it has decreased by 1.5 percentage points for men.

The official unemployment rate for young people aged 15-29 is 19.1%. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, the youth unemployment rate has decreased by 2.1 percentage points. Compared to the third quarter of 2024, this indicator has increased by 1.4 percentage points. The unemployment rate for the 30-64 age group is 7.3%. In annual terms, this indicator has decreased by 0.2 percentage points, compared to the previous quarter there is an increase of 0.6 percentage points.

The number of "lazy" people is decreasing

During the fourth quarter of 2024, 17.8% of the economically inactive and working-age population (15-64 years old) were fulfilling household duties, 10.6% of them were retired or early retired, while 14.9% were permanently disabled.

During the fourth quarter of 2024, 4.1% of the economically inactive population (in the 15-64 age group) declared that they were not looking for work because they believed that there were no jobs available, thus being classified as discouraged unemployed.

Young people aged 15-29 who declared that they are pupils/students or in training constitute 69.7% of economically inactive young people. Among economically inactive young people aged 15-29, 1.7% are classified as discouraged unemployed. In the population aged 30-64, this group constitutes 16.1% of the economically inactive population of this age group./ Monitor Magazine