TIRANA, September 16
No sector in the Albanian service industry has escaped disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic. However some sectors saw a devastating effect in business and employment, a recent report from the Institute of Statistics confirmed. Based on the data provided by INSTAT, travel agencies, hotels, and bars and restaurants were the worst-hit by the lockdown during the second quarter (Q2) of 2020. They saw a decline in sales volume and workers respectively over 50 and 20 percent.
The turnover volume for travel agencies declined by 84.4 percent. Hotels were second with a 61.2 percent drop in turnover volume followed by bars and restaurants with a 51.3 percent decline.
On the other hand, the least impacted sectors in the service industry were Information and Commination Technology (ICT), trade, and construction.
Based on the report the ICT sector saw a 5.9 percent drop in turnover volume compared to Q2 2019. Moreover, the employees’ index declined by 2.3 percent of the wage index decreased by 1.2 percent.
Construction, architectural, and engineering activities saw the lowest drop in the wage index by only 1 percent.
The ICT sector in Albania was and will likely remain relatively resilient to COVID-19 as it has a high potential as a key-enabler of the economy and employment, especially for young professionals. Proper support and promotion of the ICT sector would help attract big names from the European and global ICT players and to establish a sustainable ecosystem of innovation. ICT jobs in Q2, 2020 were among the highest-paying in Albania.
Read also: ICT, a Potential Investment Sector in Albania
ICT and Accommodation, Top Performing Services in Q3
Source: INSTAT
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