Salaries in Kosovo less than 140 euros increase for a decade

For his work at a private company, 8 years ago has been paid for about 450 gross euros, while today he receives about 550 euros.

“What I say, maybe 100 euros look like a lot, but compared to how much prices have risen, especially last year, this increase is very little”, Berisha tells Radio Free Europe.

According to data from the Kosovo Statistics Agency (ASK), the average gross salary in the country for ten years has increased 138 euros.

Out of 383 euros in 2012, it was made 521 euros in 2022.

According to economic activities, the highest salaries in Kosovo are in the energy sector, where they reach about 970 euros, followed by the information and communication sector, where there are about 900 euros.

The lowest salary, worth 323 euros, is in accommodation and food services activities.

Experts on economic issues say the low level of average wage growth in Kosovo is due to slow economic development over a decade.

In the past ten years, average economic growth in Kosovo has been 4 to 5 percent.

Recent data from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (BERZH) shows that in 2023, Kosovo will have economic growth for 3.5 percent, and in 2024 per cent for 4 percent.

Institute of Economics and Environment at the University of Pristina, Nagip Skiner, says that in Kosovo there has been no restructuring of the economy, which, according to him, would enable greater development.

“We, like the Kosovo economy, have focused more on the service sector than on production, and this has made it pay low. Everywhere the services are paid less than production services”, Skyer says of Radio Free Europe.

In the four-year programme of the current government of Kosovo is the commitment to orientation of the economy to production and export.

The government vows it will support businesses in purchasing manufacturing and processing machinery, with the aim of digitising the processing process and increasing processing and production capacities.

This month, Kosovo's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Enterprises offered financial support, worth one million euros, for the purchase of production and processing vehicles for small and medium-sized production companies.

The aim of supporting these businesses was said to be increased investments, increased competitiveness, and job creation.

Berim Ramosaj, economics legalist at the University of Pristina, tells Radio Free Europe that the productivity of work in Kosovo is low, in particular in the public sector, so that even wages, according to him, are solid.

If we look at it in terms of economic logic, it really allows the level of productivity in the public sector to be desired, considering that we are also overloaded with the number of employees. So, actually, as low as it seems to be public sector salary, I think it's quite high, given the low productivity rate of”, Ramosaj says.

Over 80 thousand public sector employees in Kosovo receive an average gross salary of 604 euros, while the average gross salary in the private sector is 473 euros.

The average gross wage rate in Kosovo has been detected by the minimum wage, which since 2011 has not changed and is brought from 130 to 170 euros.

Inflation on the Rise

In the past ten years, Kosovo citizens have faced increased consumer prices, which has affected their living standards.

If compared to 2012 to 2022, the average inflation rate is 9.1 percent higher.

The most significant increase in consumer prices was noted in 2022, when the average rate of inflation was nearly 12 percent.

Ridvan Berisha says that, with the pay he receives, he fails to buy the same things that he has bought only one or two years ago for his five-member family.

All food is more expensive. Prices have risen a lot”, he says.

From 2021 to 2022, when consumer prices have marked the highest growth, the average gross salary in Kosovo has increased for only 37 euros.

Inflation in Kosovo, as elsewhere in the world, has taken off in 2021, as a result of market disorders that have caused the pandemic of coronary, while continuing even during 2022, especially after Russia has begun its invasion of Ukraine in February of that year. Actually, the situation is more stable.

Over 86 thousand employees within ten years

Kosovo, over the years, has had high unemployment rates. In recent data from the Statistics Agency, covering the first quarter of 2022, unemployment is estimated to be 16.6 percent.

The number of employees in the last ten years, according to AKS data, has marked growth of 86 thousand in 2012, was 302 thousand, while in 2022 it was 388.

Concern for economic experts remains the decline in the number of registered job seekers.

Skyer says it's low wages that have discouraged young people to look for jobs.

Each country must initially be compared to the countries in the region. In neighbouring Kosovo countries such as Serbia, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia... the average salary offered is 900 euros, and on the other hand, Kosovo has a much lower average salary. In this context, salaries offered in Kosovo are discouraging for young people”, Skyer says.

The number of job seekers registered at regional centres in Kosovo, according to official data in 2013, has been around 300 thousand. This number, over the years, has dropped by about 280 grand. / REL