INSTAT releases data: One-fifth of young people neither in work nor in school in 2025

Albania continued to face a structural challenge in the youth labor market, with 20.1% of those aged 15-29 found to be outside the education system, unemployed, and not involved in vocational training (NEET) in 2025.

The latest official data from INSTAT show that within this age group in Albania, 38.5% of young people are actively unemployed, as they are looking for work and are ready to enter the labor market.

The remaining 1.6% stay outside the labor market as they are classified as discouraged, while 19.5% are engaged in family duties, raising children or caring for someone in the family.

A considerable share, 40.4%, falls into the “other” category, indicating a high level of informality or uncertainty in declaring their economic status.

Compared with the previous year, a slight improvement is observed in the category of discouraged people, with a decline of 0.4 percentage points.

However, this change remains limited and does not yet reflect a transformation in the integration of young people into the labor market.

The data show that men are more active in the labor market than women. Around 46.5% of male NEETs are actively looking for work and ready for employment, while among women this percentage falls to 31.9%.

Albania has a share of young people neither in work nor in school that is almost double the EU average and remains at high regional levels.

Kosovo has the highest NEET levels in the region, reaching around 30%, followed by Albania with around 20%. North Macedonia and Montenegro are in the 17% range, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia record lower levels, though still clearly above European standards.

It appears that, in terms of employment, only pensioners are benefiting from economic growth, as unemployment continues to remain high among young people.

Last year, the official unemployment rate was 8.4%, while this indicator for the 15-24 age group was 21.5%, almost three times higher than in the general population.

In contrast to young people, the number of employed people over the age of 65 has increased. INSTAT data show that from 119,862 in 2024, their number reached 130,274 in 2025.

Although these people are of retirement age, they are mainly self-employed in agriculture without contributions, and according to the local methodology they are considered employed even when they work on their small farm and produce only for self-consumption./ Monitor