Employment structure in 2025/ State sector grows, private sector shrinks

2026-07-27 08:02:00, Sociale CNA

The public sector took the lead in absorbing the workforce last year, while traditional branches of the economy such as agriculture, services, and industry experienced contraction in relation to total employment.

If in 2024 the administration and public services accounted for 17.1% of total employment, while last year this indicator reached 21.7% of the total, registering an increase of 4.6 percentage points, INSTAT reports. The data show that the interest of the workforce towards the state sector has increased, which seems to be becoming the main shelter for employment in the country, absorbing human resources from other sectors.

On the other hand, agriculture continues to face a continuous decline. Although this sector continues to hold the main weight in the employment structure, it has registered the largest contraction compared to other sectors, dropping from 36.7% of the total in 2024 to 33.8% in 2025, a decrease of 2.9 percentage points. This performance confirms the tendency of the labor force to leave agricultural activities towards other sectors or emigration.

Despite positive developments in tourism, the trade, transport and hospitality sector remained an important pillar of the service economy, but also experienced a slight decline. The contribution of these branches to the employment structure fell to 25.2% in 2025, with a contraction of 0.5 percentage points. The seasonal nature and informality in this sector seem to be holding back employment despite the high salaries offered in the peak season months.

The manufacturing, construction, mining and energy sectors also showed signs of weakness in their capacity to generate employment. The manufacturing sector recorded a decline of 0.1 percentage points, falling to 10% of the total. Meanwhile, construction and mining and energy each recorded a decline of 0.5 percentage points, closing 2025 with 7.4% and 1.9% of the employment structure, respectively, which indicates stagnation in these sectors.

The state's contribution to the economy through public administration has increased in recent years. In 2025, the public administration counted over 185 thousand employees and budgetary expenditures for personnel reached 125.7 billion lek. From 2014 to 2025, the number of employees in the state sector expanded by 12.7 percent, while expenditures on them increased by 76 percent.

In 2002, the country had over 3 million inhabitants and was served by about 186 thousand public employees, the same as today, and there were no digital services. Last year, 23 years later, the population suffered a drastic decline of 22%, dropping to about 2.36 million inhabitants and almost all public services are provided online.

As the population shrinks, it is also affecting the decline in the number of employees. Last year, there were about 15 thousand fewer employees than in 2024, while in the public sector, employment expanded further by over 3 thousand people, causing its share in total employment to increase further./ Monitor