Skills and Innovation Gap Affect Labour Productivity

TIRANA, February 3

Labour productivity in Albania accounts for one-third of the regional average and one-fifth of the most developed EU member countries. This was recently confirmed by a report issued by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). According to the report, the weak growth of labour productivity in Albania is related to the lack of innovation and skills. Labour productivity measures the amount of goods and services produced by one hour of labour. In EBRD’s case, it measured the sales-employee ratio.  However, there are highly productive firms in Albania and poorly performing firms in the EU.
Labour productivity in Albania is lower than Euro 10,000 per year compared to the Euro 30,000 in the Balkans and Euro 50,000 in 11 most developed European countries.
Further on, Bosnia and Herzegovina are the countries with the highest labour proactivity level in the region. Even Kosovo, which ranks second to last in the list, has a labour productivity level 50 percent higher than Albania.
A growth in labour productivity can be achieved if Albanian economies increase the level of technology use and invest more in human resources quality.
Low labour cost and informality have turned into a boomerang for the Albanian economy. Many companies pay low wages and this is the reason why they don’t invest in technology, which would increase productivity and reduce labour costs.

News Source: Scan TV