One-fifth of young people neither in work nor in school by 2025

2026-07-02 15:24:00, Aktualitet CNA

Albania continued to face a structural challenge in the youth labor market, with 20.1% of the 15-29 age group being out of education, employment, and training (NEET) in 2025.

The latest official data from INSTAT show that within this age group in Albania, 38.5% of young people are actively unemployed, as they are looking for work and are ready to enter the labor market. The remaining 1.6% remain outside the labor market as they are classified as discouraged, while 19.5% are engaged in family duties, raising children or taking care of someone in the family.

A significant portion, 40.4%, is listed in the "other" category, which indicates a high level of informality or uncertainty in declaring their economic status.

Compared to the previous year, there is a slight improvement in the discouraged category, with a decrease of 0.4 percentage points. However, this change remains limited and does not yet reflect a transformation in the integration of young people into the labor market.

The data shows that men are more active in the labor market than women. About 46.5% of NEET men are actively looking for work and ready for employment, while among women this percentage drops to 31.9%.

Albania has a rate of young people neither in employment nor in school almost twice the EU average and at high regional levels. Kosovo results in the highest NEET rates in the region, reaching around 30%, followed by Albania at around 20%. North Macedonia and Montenegro hover in the 17% range, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia register lower levels, but still significantly above European standards.

Only pensioners seem to be benefiting from the economic growth in terms of employment, as unemployment remains high among young people. Last year, the official unemployment rate was 8.4%, while the figure for the 15–24 age group was 21.5%, almost three times higher than in the general population.

In contrast to the youth, the number of employed people over the age of 65 has increased. INSTAT data shows that from 119,862 in 2024, their number reached 130,274 in 2025. These people, although of retirement age, are mainly self-employed in agriculture without contributions, who according to the local methodology are considered employed even when they are engaged in their small farm and produce only for self-consumption. /Monitor