Minors the "golden" solution for businesses, the number of employees under the age of 18 increases, the service sector dominates

Businesses in Albania are suffering from a lack of qualified labor due to the growing trend of emigration, but also due to the demands of employees for high wages, given that the cost of living has increased significantly. Faced with the effort to offer higher wages, a good part of businesses are "hunting" to hire minors in need of work and income, who "cost" less for enterprises, while for this category of employees it is a good way to have income to cover the expenses they have but also to gain work experience. This phenomenon is confirmed by the figures of the State Labor Inspectorate. Where for the year we left behind, 215 employees under the age of 18 were identified out of 171 registered in 2022, in other words 25% more, where 75 are female employees, this figure is also increasing compared to the previous year. Nearly 80% of employees under 18 years of age belong to the Trade and Hotel-Bars and Restaurants sector, 18% to Manufacturing Enterprises and the rest is spread over various sectors. The request and authorization for a work permit for minors is carried out through the e-albania portal. In cases where the law provides for the granting of Prior Authorization, the State Labor Inspectorate assesses whether this employment will be carried out according to the legal provisions in force. After this assessment, the document "Authorization for employment under 18 years of age" is issued case by case if the conditions are met for light work and that do not affect the safety and health of the child. On the other hand, the number of foreign workers recorded in the labor market has almost doubled, a figure which will be recorded at 1350 from 722 in 2022. The State Labor Inspectorate has inspected a total of 9938 private and state entities throughout 2023 and over 216 thousand jobs.