Immigrants from the Balkans have become an important part of the German labor market. According to data from Bruegel, a research organization, Albanians in Germany dominate in low- and medium-skilled jobs and among the lowest in the Balkan region for skilled jobs.
Albania ranks among the countries with the highest percentage of employees in low- and medium-skilled occupations, and among the lowest for specialized and expert jobs.
According to the report, 40.84% of Albanians in Germany work as “helpers,” a category that includes unskilled or semi-skilled jobs such as manual labor, logistics, services, and basic industry. This is among the highest levels in the region, compared to Bosnia (30.43%) and Serbia (33.59%).
Another large proportion, 48.94%, are employed as skilled workers, typically in technical, mechanical, construction, installation, craft or vocationally trained roles. Although this category shows a higher level of vocational training, it still lags behind advanced EU countries, where specialized roles are much more prevalent.
In the higher professional categories, Albania ranks significantly lower than other countries. Only 4.54% of Albanians in Germany work as “specialists”, such as qualified nurses, advanced technicians, healthcare professionals or roles that require certain degrees. Meanwhile, only 5.53% are in the “expert” category, which includes professionals with higher university education, engineers, IT specialists, financial experts or other high-level roles.
A comparison with other Balkan countries shows a clear difference: Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia have higher percentages of skilled workers and specialists, while Albania remains focused on low-value-added jobs. Meanwhile, EU countries, especially Western Europe, have a completely different structure, with more than 26% to 30% of their employees in specialist or expert categories.
In total, 89.78% of Albanians work in the two lowest skill categories — “helper” and “skilled worker.”
This profile of the Albanian workforce in Germany shows the German market's need for workers in basic sectors and the lack of a broad base of qualified professionals from Albania, which is related to both the quality of vocational education and the low level of salaries in higher professions in the country, which often discourages the pursuit of specialized careers.
In the long term, this trend creates challenges for the Albanian labor market, increasing the risk of vacancies in demanded professions, while for Germany it means continued dependence on emigration./monitor
