Unemployment in Kosovo

A person seeking work can create an online punëkërkues profile for vacancies, applications and training, but full registration as i papunë takes place in person at the Employment Office (Zyra e Punësimit, ZP) serving the person's place of residence. Registration generally requires a valid identity document and education or training records. The applicant must be a Kosovo citizen with residence or a valid residence permit, be available for work and actively seek employment. A person cannot register through this service while operating a registered business, holding ownership in a registered company or agricultural enterprise, receiving a pension, studying in a regular programme or holding multiple unemployment registrations. APRK services are free. They include labour-market information, career counselling, job matching, application assistance, career guidance, lifelong-learning support, the Personal Individual Plan (PIP), job clubs and job fairs. Employment Offices can assess a registered jobseeker's support needs as low, medium or high. Low needs may be handled through self-service, medium needs through matching, application support, market information and training, and high needs through intensive counselling and a PIP. Employment abroad is available only for states with diplomatic relations with Kosovo. Kosovo does not have an established general unemployment insurance or unemployment benefit that replaces a person's previous wage. Active labour-market measures provide functional support instead. Masa Aktive të Tregut të Punës (MATP) can include wage or employment subsidies, on-the-job training, internships, self-employment and entrepreneurship support, public works and vocational training. The eight Qendra për Aftësim Profesional (QAP) provide free training for jobseekers. In 2024, QAP recorded 2,104 referrals and 1,545 certifications, while MATP recorded 4,162 participants and 2,058 placements. Superpuna supported young people aged 18 to 29 with EUR 350 per month for six months; the programme recorded 6,737 first-time placements in 2024. K-GenU recorded 992 internship placements. A registered unemployed person must contact the ZP once every three months, attend invitations, continue active job search, fulfil the PIP where applicable and not refuse suitable work or MATP without a valid basis. A relevant change of status must be reported within 15 days. The ZP can remove a person after two consecutive missed three-month contacts, taking up employment or business activity, beginning regular studies, refusing suitable placement or MATP twice, or failing to search actively or fulfil the PIP. Re-registration after removal for refusal or inactive job search generally requires six months; other removals have no fixed waiting period. The Social Assistance Scheme (SAS) is household-based and needs-tested, not an unemployment payment for an individual. Under the statutory baseline, one category covers households in which all members are dependent and nobody works. Another covers a household with one work-capable member and a child under five or a permanently cared-for orphan under 15; active job search and supporting evidence apply to that category. A qualifying household normally receives assistance for up to six months and must submit a new application. The responsible Qendra për Punë Sociale (QPS), also called a Centre for Social Work (CSW), must provide a decision within 45 days after receiving a complete application. The 2024 reform pilot expanded possible access, including some families without a child under five, used income from the previous three months and allowed applications through e-Kosova, a household member or the QPS; that pilot should not be treated as a general unemployment insurance scheme. When employment ends, the former employer must pay wages up to the termination date. For an indefinite contract, the usual notice period is 30 days after six months to two years of service, 45 days after two to ten years and 60 days after more than ten years. A fixed-term contract generally has a 30-day notice period. Collective dismissal rules apply where at least 10 percent and at least 20 employees are affected within six months; the employer must give one month's advance information to employees and the union. A collective termination payment can range from one to seven monthly salaries depending on service of two years or more. This payment is separate from unemployment insurance and does not create a general unemployment benefit. Kosovo's 2024 Labour Force Survey from the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (ASK) recorded an unemployment rate of 10.8 percent, 50,074 unemployed people and 464,567 people in the labour force. The rate for ages 15 to 24 was 19.5 percent, and 74.1 percent of women were inactive. Another 2024 household survey reported 13.9 percent and 71,427 unemployed people; these figures are not directly interchangeable because the surveys and methods differ. The labour-force survey is the primary series for comparison. The scale of unemployment and the limited income replacement make early registration, active applications, training and a separate household assessment for SAS practical priorities.