Unemployment Rate in Kosovo decreased to 10.80 percent in 2024 from 10.90 percent in 2023. This dataset provides - Kosovo Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Key information about Kosovo Unemployment Rate

• Kosovo Unemployment Rate increased to 10.70% in Dec 2023, from the previously reported figure of 10.60% in Sep 2023.
• Kosovo Unemployment Rate is updated quarterly, available from Mar 2016 to Dec 2023, with an average rate of 25.85%.
• The data reached an all-time high of 31.40% in Dec 2018 and a record low of 10.60% in Sep 2023.
• The data is reported by reported by CEIC Data.
• In the latest reports, Kosovo Population reached 1.76 million people in Dec 2022.

Youth Unemployment Rate in Kosovo increased to 19.50 percent in 2024 from 17.30 percent in 2023. This dataset provides - Kosovo Youth Unemployment Rate- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The number of unemployed persons in Kosovo increased to 57325 in December of 2024 from 56652 in November of 2024. This dataset provides - Kosovo Unemployed Persons - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Kosovo Unemployment Rate: Male data was reported at 25.400 % in Mar 2019. This records a decrease from the previous number of 29.200 % for Dec 2018. Kosovo Unemployment Rate: Male data is updated quarterly, averaging 27.800 % from Mar 2016 (Median) to Mar 2019, with 13 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 29.500 % in Sep 2018 and a record low of 25.000 % in Jun 2016. Kosovo Unemployment Rate: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Kosovo Agency of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Kosovo – Table KS.G009: Labour Force Survey: Unemployment Rate.

Employment Rate in Kosovo increased to 38.60 percent in 2024 from 36.30 percent in 2023. This dataset provides - Kosovo Employment Rate- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Kosovo Unemployment Rate: Female data was reported at 31.600 % in Mar 2019. This records a decrease from the previous number of 38.000 % for Dec 2018. Kosovo Unemployment Rate: Female data is updated quarterly, averaging 34.300 % from Mar 2016 (Median) to Mar 2019, with 13 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 38.000 % in Dec 2018 and a record low of 28.700 % in Mar 2018. Kosovo Unemployment Rate: Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Kosovo Agency of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Kosovo – Table KS.G009: Labour Force Survey: Unemployment Rate.

Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) in Kosovo was reported at 12.09 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Kosovo - Unemployment, total (national estimate) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Kosovo KS: Unemployment Rate data was reported at 30.475 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 27.525 % for 2016. Kosovo KS: Unemployment Rate data is updated yearly, averaging 30.688 % from Dec 2012 (Median) to 2017, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 35.300 % in 2014 and a record low of 27.525 % in 2016. Kosovo KS: Unemployment Rate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Kosovo – Table KS.IMF.IFS: Labour Force, Employment and Unemployment: Annual.

Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate) in Kosovo was reported at 15.92 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Kosovo - Unemployment, female (national estimate) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Historical dataset showing Kosovo youth unemployment rate by year from N/A to N/A.

Kosovo KS: Unemployment Rate: % Change data was reported at 10.718 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of -16.337 % for 2016. Kosovo KS: Unemployment Rate: % Change data is updated yearly, averaging -2.913 % from Dec 2013 (Median) to 2017, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 17.667 % in 2014 and a record low of -16.337 % in 2016. Kosovo KS: Unemployment Rate: % Change data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Kosovo – Table KS.IMF.IFS: Labour Force, Employment and Unemployment: Annual.

As of 2025, there are nine countries which are official candidates to join the European Union, with Kosovo identified as a potential future candidate by the European Commission. To join the EU, countries must fulfill the Copenhagen Criteria, conditions which seek to ensure sufficient convergence in economic, political, and institutional/administrative matters between the candidate country and the EU before they are integrated into the bloc. Unemployment is a serious issue in many of the candidate countries for EU membership, with Moldova being the only country being below the EU average in this metric. While political and institutional concerns such as corruption, human rights issues, and the rule of law are seen as the main stumbling block for these countries to enter the EU, economic issues such as unemployment may also come to the fore in the coming years. Many citizens of current EU countries fear that newer member states will drive down wages, and this is particularly so for countries with large numbers of unemployed workers. High unemployment rates may also signal that these countries will experience a migration wave to other EU member states once their citizens attain the right to free movement within the Union.

Unemployment with basic education (% of total labor force with basic education) in Kosovo was reported at 18.37 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Kosovo - Unemployment with basic education (% of total unemployment) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Kosovo Youth Unemployment Rate: 15-24 Years data was reported at 26.900 % in Mar 2019. This records a decrease from the previous number of 31.400 % for Dec 2018. Kosovo Youth Unemployment Rate: 15-24 Years data is updated quarterly, averaging 29.400 % from Mar 2016 (Median) to Mar 2019, with 13 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 31.400 % in Dec 2018 and a record low of 26.200 % in Jun 2016. Kosovo Youth Unemployment Rate: 15-24 Years data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Kosovo Agency of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Kosovo – Table KS.G009: Labour Force Survey: Unemployment Rate.

Unemployment with intermediate education (% of total labor force with intermediate education) in Kosovo was reported at 11.22 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Kosovo - Unemployment with intermediate education (% of total unemployment) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Unemployment with advanced education, female (% of female labor force with advanced education) in Kosovo was reported at 13.8 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Kosovo - Unemployment with advanced education, female - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

The MCC Kosovo LFTUS is designed to answer nine research questions. The first five were identified in the RFQ, whereas the remaining four were added after MCC held additional stakeholder workshops in Pristina.

1. What is the true level of employment (formal and informal), underemployment or vulnerable employment, and unemployment, disaggregated by gender and district? How much time have the un- or under-employed spent looking for a job? Are they an entrepreneur?
2. Is there a relationship between field of study and having employment? How many people are employed in the field that they studied? Are there any correlations between certain fields of study or location and unemployment?
3. For people not looking for jobs, why are they not looking?
4. What are people doing with their time? Especially, what are women or the unemployed doing with their time? How much time is spent on child care and elder care? How much time is spent commuting?
5. How does receiving remittances and/or the ability to work abroad impact labor market decisions?
6. How do attitudes about women's place in family and society influence women's participation in the labor market?
7. How is women's engagement in productive activities (like starting a business) related to ownership and ability to control assets/access to credit?
8. Have discriminatory practices in hiring or while employed, or perceptions that there might be such practices, discouraged women from seeking jobs?
9. What are the factors that inhibit entrepreneurship, especially for women vs. men, and lead to the low levels of entrepreneurial activity for men and/or women?

The research team administered a nationally and regionally representative household survey to answer these nine questions. A stratified two-stage probability sampling plan was used, with primary sampling units as census enumeration areas and secondary sampling units as households. The survey was cross-sectional, with data collection occurring over a 16-week period between March and August of 2017.

An overview of findings is as follows:

With 41.1% of the working age population employed at the time of the survey, Kosovo compares poorly with other countries in the region as well as comparably-sized economies in the world. The economic situation, however, is worse than the aggregate statistic suggests. Almost half of Kosovo's population is economically inactive, one in five households receives a significant amount of its income from remittances, and the economy is largely dependent on the public sector, which supports one out of four jobs. Involuntary underemployment is endemic, with 78.9% of part-time workers reporting an inability to find full-time labor, and vulnerable employment (self-employed with no employees and unpaid family workers) accounting for nearly one third of total jobs. Furthermore, while rural and urban areas have broadly comparable employment rates at the national level, 27.8% of employed persons in rural areas reported being unpaid family workers. Lastly, Kosovo employment is largely characterized by low-quality jobs; 30.2% of jobs were in what the ILO labels elementary occupations, followed by services and sales workers (13.1%), with few technicians and associate professionals.

A high proportion of unemployed individuals, one-third, are characterized by long term unemployment (duration of unemployment being more than 12 months), with an average unemployment duration of 18.8 months. Overall, poor labor market conditions are most commonly reported as reasons for unemployment, though there is a strong gendered dynamic to this phenomenon. Entrepreneurship is limited (8.5% participation rate) and heavily dependent on personal resources and savings for start-up capital. Unsurprisingly, the biggest obstacle to business growth is identified as lack of financial means, which is evident from the fact that most business are started with personal resources.

Across all labor market metrics, female participation is much lower than that of males. Females are half as likely to be employed, twice as likely to be inactive, one fourth as likely to be entrepreneurs, 227% more likely to report being unpaid family workers, and, according to time use data, invest almost five more hours a day performing household and family care than men. Whether due to cultural or economic factors, females also wield much less decision-making power within the household. Males dominated decision-making power over household expenditures, were more likely to own every type of household asset, and were fourteen times more likely to be the sole decision maker for undertaking household debt. Although youth represent a valuable economic asset, with an employment rate of only 27.7%, their potential remains underutilized. This is particularly the case for young females, for whom only one in six is employed.

Bosnia and Herzegovina had the highest average annual unemployment rate among Western Balkan countries in 2023, at 13.2 percent of its workforce. Serbia was estimated to have the lowest rate, at 9.4 percent.

Kosovo KS: Unemployment Rate data was reported at 30.600 % in Dec 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 30.200 % for Sep 2017. Kosovo KS: Unemployment Rate data is updated quarterly, averaging 29.450 % from Mar 2016 (Median) to Dec 2017, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 30.600 % in Dec 2017 and a record low of 26.200 % in Jun 2016. Kosovo KS: Unemployment Rate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Kosovo – Table KS.IMF.IFS: Labour Force, Employment and Unemployment: Quarterly.