Shkodra, Lezha and Vlora saw the largest increase in the unemployment rate in 2020, compared to other districts of the country. Dependence on services and tourism, which were most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, has hit coastal cities hardest. 

According to INSTAT data, the highest unemployment rate was recorded in Lezha with 22.7%, but the highest annual growth in the last quarter of 2020 was marked by Shkodra with 5.5 percentage points. In Lezha Region, unemployment increased by 5.3 percentage points for the same period, while in Vlora the unemployment rate marked 18.7% with an annual increase of 3.8 percentage points. 

The other two large prefectures of Tirana and Durrës, although have high unemployment rates of 13.8 and 12.7% respectively, marked a slight decrease in the last quarter of 2020, compared to the same period of 2019. This for the fact that the earthquake of November 26, 2019 paralyzed the economy of the two counties at the end of 2019, causing unemployment in these two counties to improve a year later. 

However, in five regions of the country, Lezha, Vlora, Shkodra, Tirana and Durres, unemployment in the last quarter of 2020 was higher than the national average of 11.8%. Unemployment in these counties in reality is higher, but INSTAT classified as "inactive" some unemployed people in coastal municipalities. Inactive people are not included in the labor force and, consequently, are not counted as unemployed. 

The number of inactive persons (Persons 15-64 years old not looking for work) increased by over 36.000 in the last quarter of 2020 compared to October-December 2019. Like the unemployed, inactive persons were mainly concentrated in cities coastal of the country. 

The Covid-19 pandemic emerged as an employment crisis due to restrictive measures on the move and in some economic activities mainly services. Data from short-term statistics show that the most affected by the pandemic were tourism-related businesses, such as air transport, travel agencies, hotels, bars and restaurants. 

Employment expectations are low in the first quarter of 2021 due to the intensification of the pandemic and the return of severe restrictions on movement in most European Union countries.

(Source: Monitor)