Of 21 total economic activities from agriculture to technology, employees in 10 of them had wages below the national average in 2024.
Last year, the average gross monthly salary according to payroll tax declarations reached 77.4 thousand lekë, an increase of 9.8% compared to 2023.
At the bottom of the ranking is the accommodation and food services sector, where the average salary is only 50,363 lekë, about 35% less than the national average. Despite the positive developments in recent years, the sector remains among the lowest paid due to the dominance of seasonal work and high informality.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing follow with an average salary of 51,307 lek, also remaining 33.8% below the national average. Businesses related to agriculture and fishing have historically offered lower salaries than other sectors due to low productivity.
The water, sanitation and waste management sector is in a similar situation, where the salary reaches 56,893 lekë, still significantly lower than the national average.
Likewise, the manufacturing industry remains below average, with a salary of 58,650 lek. This is a sector that is a major provider of salaried employees, but still relies on low-cost labor, mainly in the manufacturing industry.
Construction is another sector with the lowest average salary, reaching 61,540 lekë in 2024 or 21% less than the national average, while wholesale and retail trade and vehicle repair register a salary of 64,868 lekë. Despite the slight increase compared to last year, these sectors fail to overcome the threshold of the national average.
Other service activities, including craft work or small services, also record a salary of only 67,374 lek, while transportation and storage reaches 71,936 lek, still remaining below average, although salaries in these activities increased by over 10% compared to 2023.
In total, there are about ten sectors of the economy that record lower wages than the national average, mainly in areas characterized by mass employment, higher informality, more limited technologies, and lower productivity.
On the other hand, employees in international organizations have the highest salary level, 234% of the average. Also, banks, insurance, information and communication companies offer salaries many times higher than the national average.
In the group of salaries with levels higher than the national average are activities in the state sector such as education, health, and administrative activities. /Monitor.al/
