TIRANA, Sept. 7, 2022 – Low wages at home are the top factor driving young workers to emigrate from the Western Balkans and Albania in particular, according to a regional report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Albania has the region’s highest number of young workers looking to emigrate, the OECD report noted.
The survey asked people in their 20s about the main reason they would like to move to another country, and 79 percent of respondents ranked higher wages as the most important reason for leaving their country.
However, wages are only one of a set of factors driving emigration from the six countries of the Western Balkans — Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia, North Macedonia, Montenegro. Other factors include living standards, corruption and political instability.
The survey showed that weaknesses in the labor market and low wages create incentives for emigration from the Western Balkans. The average unemployment rate in the region is higher than twice the OECD average, ranging from 9 percent in Serbia, 12 percent in Albania and up to 26 percent in Kosovo. The OECD represents 38 of the world’s most industrialized states.
Employees in the Western Balkans receive on average much lower wages than workers in major EU countries. For example, the minimum monthly wages in Germany and France are twice as high as in North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, and almost four times higher than in Albania.
The educational systems of the Western Balkans show strong weaknesses, which also leads to a drive to emigrate. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) shows that on average half of all 15-year-olds in the region do not achieve basic skills in literacy or mathematics. More than two-fifths of businesses surveyed in the region cite a lack of applicant skills as a reason for unfilled vacancies, according to reporting by Monitor magazine.
The mismatch between the supply of skills and the demand for work is stimulating young people in particular to seek suitable work opportunities abroad. This is most evident in Albania, which has the highest percentage of young people up to 24 years of age who emigrate.
The survey found that private sector development is hindered by a challenging business climate, high levels of corruption and weak links between foreign direct investment (FDI) and domestic sectors. Furthermore, more than a fifth of businesses in the Western Balkans identify corruption as a major obstacle to doing business in the region.
“Such an environment hinders the potential for economic growth and job creation, which in turn can reinforce the factors of emigration,” the OECD study notes.
The survey also points out that high emigration rates can lead to skills shortages and labor market distortions in the Balkans. High levels of immigration can result in a loss of investment in human capital and hinder productivity growth.
