These are the findings of our latest report as the Institut për Politika Sociale Musine Kokalari: ‘Support for the Employment of Women and Youth: Between the Uncertainty of the Amount Paid and the Effect to Be Achieved’.
According to the measures of the Economic Recovery Package, which was adopted in June 2021, specifically measure 1.3, for which 5 million euros have been allocated, approximately 11,000 women would be employed if the subsidy paid reaches the maximum amount allowed by the measure. When the subsidy amount is lower, the number of beneficiaries will be higher. On the other hand, the data show a similarly low number of young beneficiaries from measure 1.4, with only 4,902 beneficiaries if the subsidy amount reaches the upper limit of the measure. Meanwhile, data from the Kosovo Agency of Statistics continue to show a low activity rate of women and youth in the labor market, as well as a high unemployment rate. Consequently, these data imply that the majority of them cannot benefit from the Government’s measures.
However, the exact amount of subsidy from these measures remains unclear, as announcements from the Minister of Finance, Mr. Hekuran Murati, on his social media provide a much lower figure compared to the calculations from the Economic Recovery Package measures.
Such measures and their implementation have great potential to serve as an employment catalyst for these two categories, thus leading to a more efficient use of public funds. Therefore, we urge the Government of the Republic of Kosovo to be more transparent in this regard.
You can read the full report ‘Support for the Employment of Women and Youth: Between the Uncertainty of the Amount Paid and the Effect to Be Achieved’ at the link below.
This report has been supported by the Olof Palme International Center.
The full report can be downloaded here: