TIRANA, Dec. 15, 2022 – The main concern of Albania’s business community is currently the shrinking of the labor force due to high out-migration — as well as the lack of qualified workers, according to the latest annual index published by the American Chamber of Commerce in Albania.
Albania is also not making progress in the fight against corruption, monopolies and unfair competition, according to the report.
The American Chamber of Commerce published this week its Business Index for 2021-2022, a survey of its 230 members — diverse enterprises representing the largest business community in Albania.
The index points out that high emigration is weakening the workforce, and has become the main concern of businesses today.
“Migration has greatly influenced the deterioration of the index. During the pandemic, there was a balancing of demand and supply in the labor market, also due to the impossibility of moving out of the country. After the easing of the pandemic measures, space was created to migrate, and now the departure of qualified workers has become a major problem,” said Neritan Mullaj, the executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Albania.
The vast majority of companies note that their performance is being damaged because they find it more and more difficult to find qualified employees. This indicator worsened by -9 points, compared to a year ago.
“After the Covid pandemic, the work pandemic has started. The Albanian economy has so far only had the low cost of labor as a competitive advantage. This current generation is growing up differently, and we cannot expect them to do low-paid jobs. I believe this is a silent protest they are making against an economy that has not produced high wages and competitiveness. Albania currently has the lowest wages in Europe and I think it is a silent protest that young people are leaving,” said Ornela Liperi, editor-in-chief of the economic magazine Monitor.
The annual index of the American Chamber of Commerce marked an improvement in the overall business climate, however, compared to a year ago (3.77), mostly related to the recovery after the pandemic, when businesses were negatively affected for a long period.
But the authors of the report emphasized that there is no progress in the fight against corruption, monopolies and unfair competition. Respondents point out that the business climate is a challenging issue for them, because most of the pressing problems are old and unfixed for years.
The index also records further worsening indicators of old business climate problems such as monopolies and unfair competition (-2.95 points), corruption (-0.79 points), government bureaucracy (-1.64 points) and law enforcement. (-1.32 points).
Respondents said that fair, equitable and transparent practices are still far from the hopes of companies and investors.
The assessment for relations with tax authorities worsened (-2.52 points), as well as for ministries (-1.57 points).
The index highlighted the urgent need to fight corruption, monopolies, inequality and unfair competition and the informal economy in partnership between public authorities and the private sector, establishing long-term solutions for a new and sustainable business climate.
