Agriculture is still the least productive sector in the economy, but labor shortages pushed wages up sharply in the sector through 2022. 

In the third quarter of 2022, the average salary for an employee in the agriculture and fishing sector reached 41,205 ALL with an annual increase of 15.5%. The growth rates were among the highest due to the low salary base in this sector compared to others. 

This increase narrowed the gap with the average salary in the country. In the third quarter of 2022, the difference between the average wage in agriculture and the average wage in the economy was 33%, from 37 percent in the same period last year. 

In agriculture, wages are offered on a daily basis due to the seasonal nature of the work. Until last year, an employee in this sector was paid 1,500 lek per day, but this year the payments went to 2,000 lek in the areas of Lushnja, Fier where intensive agriculture with greenhouses takes place. 

Next year, farmers announce that the pressure for higher wages will be increasing, as the demand for vegetable supplies from Albania has increased significantly in recent years. 

Emigration has recently spread to large urban centers, but in rural areas it has remained consistent. Working in rural areas has already become a challenge for agricultural businesses, which are being forced to pay more for employees who live far from the workplace. 

In Albania, almost half of the employees work without pay in the family business and these are converted into agricultural businesses. 

But a large category who work in agriculture receive wages below the poverty line. 

The International Labor Organization (ILO) in its publication on poverty wages verified that, in 2021, a total of 19 percent of employees in Albania were paid less than 5.5 USD per day or about 130 USD per month. 

Usually the categories of workers in poverty work in the agriculture and service sectors. Their work is seasonal and with very low wages. 

While poverty in the developed world is often associated with unemployment, the extreme poverty that exists in much of the developing world is primarily a problem of employed people in these societies. For these poor workers, the problem is usually one of quality of employment. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is also widespread in Albania. 

(Source: Monitor)