Albania’s labor market improved further in 2025, as unemployment declined and average monthly wages increased, according to the latest data from INSTAT. The country’s labor force reached 1,279,906 people. Men accounted for 54.2% of the total, while women made up 45.8%.

Employment stood at 1,172,359 people, down slightly by 0.4% from 2024. Meanwhile, 107,548 people remained unemployed. The official unemployment rate for people aged 15 and over fell to 8.4%, down 0.1 percentage points from a year earlier. Men recorded a 7.3% unemployment rate, while women stood at 9.7%.

For the 15-64 age group, unemployment reached 9.3%. At the same time, labor force participation climbed to 76.3%. The data show that 69.3% of people aged 15-64 held a job, 9.3% looked for work, and 23.7% stayed economically inactive.

Men continued to participate in the labor market at higher rates. The employment rate reached 76% for men, compared with 62.7% for women, creating a gender gap of 13.3 percentage points. Employment among people over 65 also increased. Their number rose to 130,274 from 119,862 a year earlier. Most of them work as self-employed farmers and meet international employment standards.

The services sector remained the country’s largest employer, accounting for 46.9% of all jobs. Agriculture followed with 33.8%. Skilled workers in agriculture and trade represented 45.3% of total employment. Meanwhile, managers, professionals, and technicians accounted for 22.5%.

Paid employees made up 48% of the workforce. In addition, 30.9% worked as self-employed, while 21.1% contributed as unpaid family workers. Women proved almost twice as likely as men to work without pay in family businesses. Around 29.3% of employed women fell into this category, compared with 14.4% of employed men. Informal employment also declined. The non-agricultural informal employment rate dropped to 21.8%, down 2.9 percentage points from 2024.

Youth unemployment among people aged 15-24 fell to 21.5%, marking a 1.3 percentage point improvement from the previous year. However, long-term unemployment remained high, with 72.7% of unemployed people out of work for more than a year. Income also increased during the year. The average gross monthly wage reached 84,112 lek, up 8.6% from 2024.

At the same time, the gender pay gap narrowed. Men earned an average of 4.6% more than women, while the difference shrank by 0.3 percentage points compared with the previous year.

INSTAT also reported that 12.6% of paid employees earned wages at or below the official minimum wage. Overall, the 2025 figures point to a more stable labor market, supported by rising wages, lower unemployment, and declining informality.