Self-employment accounted for 30% of total employment in 2023, but only half pay insurance

2024-04-16 08:14:00, Ekonomi CNA

Self-employment accounted for 30% of total employment in 2023, but only half pay

The employment structure in the country continued to be dominated by self-employment even in 2023.

Official data from INSTAT, originating from the Labor Force Survey, show that in the last quarter of last year, the self-employed contributed to about 30% of total employment, up from about 31% in 2022.

In the last quarter of 2023, a total of 1,324,773 people were employed, where about 30% of them (over 397 thousand were self-employed).

Concerns about self-employment are related to the fact that most do not pay social security, investing in their poverty at retirement age.

Data from the Labor Force Survey show that last year, self-employment hovered at an average of 397,000 people, but only 215,000 paid social security. A comparison of the data shows that only 54% of the self-employed pay insurance. The self-employed accounted for only 16% of the total contributors in 2023, while they account for 30% of employment in the country.

Self-employment accounted for 30% of total employment in 2023, but only half pay

The International Financial Institutions have advised the Albanian government to strengthen the regulatory measures for the inclusion of the self-employed in the insurance scheme in order to avoid the social problems that this addition may have at retirement age.

Albania ranks among the countries with the largest share of self-employment in Europe, where the working-age population engages in family businesses such as trade, services or crafts.

Most of the self-employed in the country have low education. According to INSTAT, almost 41% of employees with 8-9 years of education earn their living through self-employment. Even those with secondary education tend to open their own businesses, with self-employment accounting for 34% of this category.

It is different for people with higher education, who seem to find it easier to find a job in businesses that they did not open themselves. Only 12% of employees with higher education are self-employed.

Men are more likely to start a business, with 38% of them being self-employed, compared to 25% of women.

According to age groups, the highest percentage of self-employment results in people who are over 65 years old (60%) and the lowest for young people up to 24 years old (20%)./ Monitor.al