In Albania are paid 6 times less than in the EU

 Hands counting Albanian Leks, banknotes of 5000 (illustration, archive)

 The State Institute of Statistics  (known locally with the acronyms 'INSTAT' survey on the cost of labor for 2020 shows that an employee in Albania is paid an average of 4.5 euros for each working hour. In the European Union for 2021, the figure was 29 euros and in the Eurozone countries 32 euros, Euronews Albania reports.

The highest paid are those employed in banks and financial institutions with 750 lek/hour. Tailoring, services and hotels are the activities with the lowest salaries with an average of 260 lek/hour.

The average monthly labor cost has increased by about 7 thousand leks or 10 percent compared to 2016. According to INSTAT, this is due to the increase of the minimum wage from 22 to 26 thousand lek.

The survey also shows that Albanian companies spent little both on protecting employees from the pandemic and on their training. 0.4 percent of expenses went to protective measures and training, while the rest went to salaries and social security.

By comparison, in the same year in France and Sweden, 32 percent of labor costs went to training and protecting employees against the pandemic.