Albania's unemployment rate hits 30-year low

Minister of Finance of Albania Petrit Malaj stated that the country achieved significant fiscal strengthening in 2025, alongside an estimated 3.9% economic growth.

During the meeting of the SP parliamentary group, Malaj said that the results are the fruit of the reforms undertaken, which are based on guaranteeing macroeconomic and fiscal discipline, CE Report quotes ATA.

According to him, the projection for the medium-term period is 4%, a level higher than the average of the Western Balkan countries, which is projected at 3%.

Malaj emphasized that unemployment has fallen to 8.1%—a 30-year low—marking a significant improvement from the 17% rate recorded a decade ago. This rate remains lower than the Western Balkan average of 10.3%.

Regarding the salaries, he highlighted that the minimum wage has increased by an average of about 10% compared to 2024. Currently, the average salary in the public sector is 1,026 euros, while in the private sector it is 785 euros.

“Through the 2026 budget, the policy of increasing salaries continued, bringing the minimum salary from 40 thousand lekë to 50 thousand lekë nationwide. For the first time, there has begun implementation of the salary indexation scheme in the public sector, with the aim of strengthening purchasing power,” explained Malaj.

Meanwhile, he stressed, the public debt fell to 53% of GDP in 2025, improving from 54.2% a year earlier.

Referring to data from the Bank of Albania, Malaj informed that foreign direct investments for the first 9 months of 2025 reached 1.2 billion euros, the highest historical level for this period, with an increase of 51 million euros compared to the same period in 2024.

“Over the last five years, Albania has absorbed a higher level of foreign direct investments in relation to GDP, compared to the average of the Western Balkan countries,” Malaj concluded.