TIRANA, Sept. 1 – Being jobless in Albania can be one of the worst experiences in Europe and around the world. A recent World Social Protection report by the International Labour Organization has unveiled only one out of fourteen jobless people in Albania receive modest unemployment benefits. The data ranks Albania among the poorest performing social protection countries in Europe worse only compared to Bosnia and Herzegovina where only 2 percent of the jobless receive benefits, but at similar levels compared to other regional EU aspirants such as Serbia’s 8.8 percent, Macedonia’s 8.2 percent and Turkey’s 7.7 percent. Neighboring Montenegro offers the best social protection among regional EU aspirants with 35.6 percent of the unemployed receiving benefits, according to the UN organization.
The coverage rate in developed EU members is above 50 percent with Germany offering benefits to 88 percent of the jobless.
At about 11 percent of the GDP, Albania also has Europe’s lowest public social protection expenditure.
Last March, the Albanian government increased unemployment benefits for some 5,400 jobless people by 60 percent to 11,000 lek (€89), meeting an International Labour Organization commitment of raising it to at least 50 percent of the minimum wage.
Albania’s minimum wage at 22,000 lek (€159)/month is currently among the region’s lowest.
The increase in the employment benefit is also a result of a sharp cut in the number of beneficiaries in the past four years. Albania had some 5,432 people receiving unemployment benefits at the end of 2015 compared to about 10,000 in early 2012, according to state statistical institute, INSTAT.
Some 148,000 people are registered as jobless with the country’s employment offices with the unemployment rate reported at 17.3 percent at the end of 2015.
Another 62,000 jobseekers receive modest social assistance of up to 4,633 lek (€34)/month.
Employment offices have been offering vocational training to jobseekers to equip them with skills matching labour market needs.
A new law has also disciplined “lazy” jobseekers by stripping them of their unemployment benefits if they refuse jobs offered by state offices.
Another ILO report has shown more than 30 percent of Albanian young men and women aged up to 30 were willing to migrate in 2015 if they were given the opportunity to move permanently to another country, in one of the world’s highest rates.
More than 65,000 Albanians applied for asylum in EU countries last year, mostly in Germany, accounting for 5 percent of asylum claims filed last year, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, BAMF, reports another 10,000 Albanians applied for asylum in Germany in the first seven months of this year despite chances of being granted asylum being almost zero.
Youth unemployment rates dropped to 30.4 percent in the first quarter of 2016 compared to a historic high of 34.2 percent a year ago.
The booming call center business and the traditional garment and footwear manufacturing are emerging as two of the key employers for Albanian young men and women aged from 15 to 29.
