About the ILO in Kosovo¹

Limited job opportunities, especially for youth

After a 5.3% contraction of GDP in 2020 caused by the Covid-19 pandemic the economy recovered quickly in 2021 with an estimated growth of 7.7%. Solid data on the labour market impact of the pandemic are not available. The ILO expects that the pandemic has made the labour market challenges of Kosovo from before the pandemic even more urgent. These challenges are high rates of unemployment (26 per cent in Q4 2021), particularly for women and youth (youth unemployment almost at 50% in 2020), elevated rates of inactivity (above 60% in 2020), and informal employment (estimates range between 20 and 30%). Continue reading


¹All references to Kosovo should be understood in the context of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999).