Wave of emigration, which this time has affected young people and the qualified workforce, is causing problems with finding the workforce, turning into a "new crisis" for businesses, which unfortunately seems likely to last. 

In 2022, European Union countries granted nearly 74,000 residence permits to Albanian citizens, according to official Eurostat data. 

This is the highest level since 2010 and a direct indicator of the pick-up in the immigration cycle, which accelerated after the pandemic. 

Since 2008, when the earliest Eurostat data is reported, European Union countries have granted a total of 832,000 residence permits to Albanian citizens. 

This figure is almost a third of the population that is reported to be living in Albania (the census, which will accurately show the number of people left in the country, is being conducted this year). International institutions see residence permits as the main indicator to measure a country's migration levels. 

"The new expectations regarding work environments should be seen as structural and not temporary. 

In Albania, the labor force situation is further complicated by the effect of strong emigration of adult Albanians to Western countries, reducing the available labor force. 

Businesses and trade associations have repeatedly expressed the difficulty in finding labor, which inevitably leads to the reduction of the growth plans of the companies themselves", affirms Alessandro Rosa, Administrator of "Conad Albania". 

In the annual reports, some companies emphasize that the lack of manpower is preventing them from expanding their activity and undertaking new projects, as well as increasing productivity. 

"One of the challenges of this year, without question, was the recruitment of new employees, since the market in general is facing a marked lack of human resources. 

The company's focus continues to be on attracting quality and professional staff, as it is a key point that connects the company with the client's views and meeting their needs at the highest levels. 

The various trainings and the appropriate evaluations of the staff have created a promotional, developing and attractive environment to be part of the team", states the activity report of "GLOBE", one of the largest dealers in the country of electrical and electronic equipment. . 

The labor crisis is being felt in all sectors, even in those that offer the highest salaries in the country, such as the financial sector. 

"Emigration and especially brain drain are two of the factors affecting the banking system", affirms Seyhan Pencabl?gil, General Director and Board Member of the National Commercial Bank (BKT), the largest in the country. 

He adds that the demand for well-educated and qualified human resources is a challenge faced by all sectors in Albania, not only the banking sector. "The period after COVID-19 has been particularly challenging, due to the increase in requests for emigration, which had been postponed for at least a year. 

However, during 2022, the numbers returned to standard levels," he adds. 

The lack of labor and the frequent turnover of employees due to emigration is negatively affecting the profitability of enterprises, especially manufacturing ones. 

"Difficulty in securing manpower has become a constant problem. In addition to the problems created in production planning by the risk of not finding employees, it is important to underline another negative effect created, which is the drop in productivity. 

The high turnover of employees (the number of employees who have left in relation to the number of employees at the beginning of the year plus that at the end of the year), characterized by the increase in emigration and the difficulty in replacing them, has also caused the decrease forced selection criteria and consequently, the drop in productivity. 

This has a significant financial impact, as it increases the production cost of each product", says Ertjan Çabiri, Managing Director of "Delmon Group Albania". 

"Albaco Shoes", one of the largest enterprises producing shoes for export, is suffering from both the increase in costs and the lack of labor force, which is negatively affecting the activity. 

In the activity report, the administrator of the Italian-owned company states that "Albaco Shoes", during 2022, had an abnormal performance of its activity. 

Billings have suffered a decrease of about 0.53% compared to 2021, due to the lack of manpower. 

Production costs have increased by about 1.4% compared to 2021. The number of employees has been reduced by about 14.33% compared to 2021. Invoicing prices have decreased by 1.5%.

Taking into account the global turnover of retail employees, which is over 75% (according to the National Retail Federation), due to the challenges of the Albanian labor market and the significant number of employees left due to emigration, the year 2022 may is considered stable for 'Neptune' in terms of personnel". 

The problem with the workforce has increased the emphasis on human resources, reflected in the activity reports, where an increased attention is shown to the treatment of human resources, training, remuneration, motivation, etc. 

Companies state that they are constantly investing in the treatment and qualification of employees. 

In the activity report of ELKA, one of the largest distributors in the country, it is emphasized that "during 2022 priority was given to the human resources sector, adding qualified staff in order to achieve the objectives that the company has for a quality and professional staff . 

Employees are treated professionally by the company's human resources staff. 

The salaries of the staff of the ELKA company, during the year 2022, have marked a significant increase. The salary fund in 2022 was 569.6 million ALL, with an increase of 8.49% compared to the previous year. 

(Source: Monitor)