Pristina with Masters carried out took five years to find a regular job

The U.N. (known name for proofreading) has taken more than five years to provide a regular workplace. He had applied in over 15 working competitions in Kosovo, but was not accepted.

He secured his job only two months ago at a Kosovo public institution, in the profession for which he conducted studies at master level.

With the profession I practice right now, I've only been involved with projects when I was in basic studies. I have taken a cultural heritage, as a historian. But to be employed in a regular contract, it took me more than five years from”, he tells Radio Free Europe.

According to him, nepotism has been the main reason it has failed to be employed for five years, since in any competition it has applied, according to him, it met the criteria required.

The S.G. lives in Pristina, in a rented apartment, which he shares with a friend.

In 2019 he was forced to find work outside his profession. He says he worked as a salesman for eight months at a food store in the capital. But after that, he again began to seek employment in the profession for which he finished his studies.

I've been wanting to work on the profession I've performed, and I've dreamed of dealing with this profession. I've been able to console myself, saying that my country can offer me this much”, he says.

The U.G., who was a middle - grade student over nine, also had scientific publications in international magazines, but none of these qualifications, he says, were taken on grounds in contests published by public institutions.

In most of the contests, he says, candidates who had friends and family in that institution were hired, or even militants of parties who were in power.

The S.G. shows that after it was announced that it was not accepted in any of the contests he applied, which he thought met all the conditions, he exercised the right to complaint with competent authorities, but, he says, has not received an answer in his favor.

He shows that all of this made him depressed, but he did not stand back from finding a job for which, in addition to having an economic need, he wanted that job to enable him to exercise the profession for which he had studied.

But the problems also surfaced when the U.S.G. was hired, which with many challenges managed to overcome.

Two months ago when I was employed in the first competition, someone at the institution saw that I wasn't fit in the ministry that had the party in question, so I was probably a fan of some other party, and they opened up my job again without me knowing it. That's why I've had to complain in other institutions to get my job back”, he relates.

Unemployment seizes Kosovo

International Labour Day, Kosovo finds the unemployed high.

Unemployment from 45 percent in 2008, when Kosovo declared independence, by 2020, has been able to mark a near 25 percent decline.

Over 70 percent of the unemployed in Kosovo report that they are unemployed for more than 12 months.

These data are from the Kosovo Statistics Agency, as the only mechanism for publishing official data in Kosovo.

Average economic growth in Kosovo has failed to ease the unemployment rate. This unemployment rate has made Kosovo the poorest state in the region, struggling with high poverty levels.

The European Commission's recent Progress for Kosovo report estimates that 18 percent of the population lives under the poverty line, with 45 euros a month, and 5.1 percent of the population under the line of extreme poverty, under $1.90 per day.

Pandemia hit the labour market

Facing pandemics, meanwhile, has also hit the labour market in Kosovo. Official data on how many employees have left work due to measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is unknown.

But, according to economic associations in Kosovo, during the time of the pandemic, over 50,000 citizens have lost their jobs, and about 20 thousand businesses of different sectors are bankrupt.

The World Bank, in its latest report, released this week, said the total number of jobs lost in the Western Balkan region reached approximately 70,000 at the end of 2020.