ACER and ASET study says Albanians are poorer

TIRANA, Feb.14- Almost half of the Albanian households live with minimum revenues, 47.3% of the families get monthly revenue of 20.000-50.000 lek. The conclusion has been put forward by a study from the Albanian Center for Economic Research (ACER) and the Albanian Forum for Debate (ASET). Compared to the data of 2006 Albanians have experienced a decline in 2007. Almost 32.8 percent of the Albanian households have had lower revenues in 2007 compared to 2006 while 5.4 percent have become significantly poorer. Only 18.6 percent of the households have had an increase in their income during 2007. For 3 percent of Albanian families 2007 has brought a significant economic improvement. According to this study of ACER and ASET the polarization of the society towards two extreme poles economically. The study explains that a large part of these differences is because of high levels of unemployment which is expected to be twice the official figure. A recent report of CIA says that unemployment level is 30 percent in Albania and the official figure of 13 percent does not include the reality in rural areas.