TIRANA, Sept 1 /ATA/ In 2024, the average gross monthly salary for wage-earning employees rose by 9.8% compared to 2023, reaching 77,485 Albanian lek.
The calculation is based on data from social and health insurance declarations as well as employment income tax filings, covering all sectors of the economy and all contributors—both Albanian and foreign nationals—for whom enterprises report a gross monthly wage.
As outlined in the most recent labor market report by the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) for 2024, 22.4% of wage-earning contributors receive a gross monthly salary equal to or below the official minimum wage. The minimum wage for 2024 is set at 40,000 lekë.
Compared to 2023, employment increased by 1.5 percentage points, while unemployment among the 15–74 age group decreased by 0.9 percentage points, indicating an overall improvement in the labor market. In the 15–64 age group, 68.6% of the population is employed, 9.4% is unemployed, and 24.3% is economically inactive, meaning they are outside the labor force.
When analyzing the data by gender, it is observed that 74.9% of males in this age group are employed, compared to 62.4% of females. At the same time, 8.9% of males are unemployed versus 10% of females, while a significantly higher percentage of females — 30.7% — are outside the labor force, compared to 17.7% of males.
Another important indicator in the wage analysis is the gender pay gap, which in 2024 stands at 4.9%. Data show that men have an average gross monthly salary that is 4.9% higher than that of women. Compared to 2023, this gap has narrowed by 1.2 percentage points.
The labor force in Albania for the year 2024 is estimated at 1,287,099 individuals, of which 54.1% are male and 45.9% are female. Among this labor force, approximately 1,177,245 individuals are employed, with a similar gender distribution: 54.4% male and 45.6% female.
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