Average salary in Kosovo by far lowest in the region

The minimum wage in Kosovo has not been increased since 2011, and it is still the lowest in the region. The draft law that would enable an increase in the minimum wage, which was adopted by the members of the Assembly of Kosovo in its first reading in mid-2022, has not yet been adopted, Nacionale reports.

The draft law, adopted in the first reading, must pass the second and third readings in the Assembly of Kosovo in order to be sent to the president for signature. In accordance with the Assembly regulation, the draft law was supposed to be processed in the second reading within two to three months of its adoption in the first reading, but this did not happen.

Based on the data of the European Agency for Statistics, Eurostat, the average salary in Kosovo is significantly lower compared to salaries in Montenegro, Serbia, and North Macedonia.

It is approximately 362 euros higher in Montenegro than in Kosovo, approximately 290 euros higher in Serbia, and approximately 180 euros higher in Albania, based on an increase in April of this year.

According to research conducted by the Institute for Advanced Studies GAP, over 100,000 workers in Kosovo are paid the minimum wage, with 94 percent of them working in the private sector.

"The findings of this report, which is based on data from the Tax Administration of Kosovo, show that the increase in the gross salary to 264 euros affects approximately 30 percent of the labor market or approximately 105,000 employees. Except for the number of employees in the security sector, the increase in the minimum wage does not affect the public sector at all. An increase in the minimum wage to 264 euros would result in a significant increase in the minimum wage to average wage ratio, from 43 percent to 66 percent," the GAP publication says.

According to the World Economic Outlook data, Kosovo is ranked as the poorest in Europe for the year 2023.

During 2022, Kosovo faced inflation that exceeded levels seen in several decades, with prices of basic products recording almost uncontrollable growth. As a euroized economy with skyrocketing import values, Kosovo was directly exposed to the global crisis.

In last year's World Bank report, it was also assessed that the government's social packages are too "poor and powerless" to alleviate the economic crisis that Kosovo is facing and that the main problem is still inflation.