Small Business in Deep Crisis

Multimedia Press Review

Media: Reporter.al 

Author: Gjergj Erebara

During 2017, the number of employees, the number of businesses, and the volume of sales of 95,000 Albanian small businesses fell sharply compared to the previous year, according to the Structural Survey of Enterprises by INSTAT. The data also show an increase in inequality between a few big enterprises and the majority of small enterprises

According to INSTAT, turnover and employment in small businesses fell sharply in Albania in 2017 compared to the previous year, while large businesses further increased their share in the Albanian economy.
The total number of active enterprises in the country fell by 0.8 percent The number of small enterprises with up to four employees fell by 1.8 percent. Despite the collapse of the small businesses’ turnover, big businesses reported a twofold growth. Enterprises with 10 to 50 employees increased turnover by 18 percent, while businesses with over 50 employees increased by about 13 percent.

Small-sized enterprises, which in statistics are reported as enterprises with 1 to 4 employees, are responsible for one-third of all employees who live with only 12 percent of total sales. Over the last year in Albania, there were nearly 95,000 small enterprises. Although for statistical purposes these enterprises are classified in the group of 1 to 4 employees, INSTAT’s figures suggest that most of them have only one self-employed.  Last year in Albania there were 6,700 enterprises with 5-9 employees, whose turnover also fell by ten percent.

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Photo credit: INSTAT