Erwerbstätigkeit und Arbeitslosigkeit in Albanien Mitte der 90er Jahre

Abstract

For Albania, political change in 1990/1991 did not just mean the collapse of the communist regime, it was also the end of an almost fifty year isolation from the "rest of the world". The transformation from planned to market economy is more difficult than in most of the other reform states. The collapse of many national companies has meant that high unemployment, the building up of democratic structures and caring for the population are the central problems of this young democracy. Low income, poverty, neediness and financial disaster after dubious capital investments not only have made life practically impossible for many Albanians -especially after the unrest in 1997- but have also deeply shaken the trust of the people in the government and the state order. Whereas official statistics say that unemployment in 1996 was running at no more than roughly 12%, the unofficial figures are considerably higher . Albania is an agricultural country. Almost 69% of the population in 1996 worked in farming. Therefore, the agricultural sector has hugely grown in importance since 1990 - a result of privatisation, the collapse of national industry, the poor supply situation and the rise in unemployment through emigration. The economic reform took place to the disadvantage of the completely obsolete industrial firms above all. 80% of the jobs have been lost as a result of this since 1990. However, economic reform has lead to an increase in jobs in the services sector. Women, job hunters between 21 and 34 and people with low qualifications are particularly hit by unemployment. The city regions are more severely hit by unemployment than the rural districts as a result of migration. The difficult economic situation of the country and the tense job market caused a massive domestic and outward migration which grew dramatically after the 1997 unrest in particular, and which caused considerable upheaval in the popul ation and massive population losses. As it is mainly young, initiative and well trained Albanians who emigrate, this means a severe loss in human capital. The 1997 unrest did not only lead to a destabilisation of law and order, it also had severe effects on the successful first stages of the transformation process. The economic situation in the country is now worse than it was in 1996. The political instability and the uncertainty have worried many foreign investors. It is, however, impossible to build up the country without outside help. In tourism particularly, however, which could become the motor of the economy, Albania has favourable perspectives.