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Alarming depopulation! Youth in Albania shrinks by 40%, their unemployment is increasing
2026-02-10 16:09:03 / EKONOMI&SOCIALE
The population in the 15-29 age group has fallen by over 40 percent between 2019 and 2025, while young people registered as unemployed in the same period have increased according to a comparison of official data from INSTAT.
The number of young people registered as unemployed reached 15,717 in the third quarter of 2025, up from 15,021 in the same quarter of 2019, or 4.6% more. The persistent youth unemployment comes at a time when the population in the 15-29 age group has suffered a sharp decline, from 681,548 people in 2019 to just 405,832 in 2025, a decrease of 40.4%.
The data show that the pressure of unemployment on young people has not eased, despite their numbers having declined significantly. The shrinking youth population, driven mainly by emigration and falling birth rates, has not been accompanied by a proportional improvement in youth employment.
The fact that the absolute number of young unemployed remains similar suggests that the economy has not been able to integrate young people into the labor market even in conditions of labor shortage.
Although there are fewer young people of working age, opportunities for quality and sustainable employment have not expanded to the same extent, causing a significant portion of this age group to remain outside the labor market.
There is a significant mismatch between the skills offered by the education system and the real demands of the labor market. Many young people are leaving education with profiles that do not match the needs of the economy, especially in sectors requiring practical, technical or digital skills, making it more difficult to absorb them even as the overall number of young people is falling.
Also, the quality and structure of new jobs do not attract young people. Economic growth in recent years has been largely concentrated in sectors with low productivity or with seasonal, informal and low-wage employment, which are not attractive or sustainable for young people. Even when jobs are created, they do not necessarily translate into a reduction in youth unemployment, as some of them choose to stay outside the formal market or seek opportunities abroad.
Emigration is also having a negative impact. It is mainly the young people who are better educated or better able to integrate quickly into foreign labor markets who are leaving, while a profile more exposed to long-term unemployment remains in the country. As a result, youth unemployment is not being reduced, even as the overall population of this age group is shrinking rapidly.
Internships, traineeships and active employment programs are limited, causing many young people to spend long periods without work after completing their education. This delay in entering the labor market increases the risk of persistent unemployment and weakens their connection to formal employment. Meanwhile, enterprises prefer experienced workers, to minimize costs and risks./ Monitor
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