Nearly 700 citizens of working age are inactive (do not work or look for work), of which over 100 young people are neither working nor in school or training. Thus, the rate of non-activity continues to remain quite high, around 60 percent. Despite this, the Minister of Finance, Labor and Transfers, Hekuran Murati boasts of the number of active accounts with over 400 thousand in the Trust for the year 2023. 

For this, the opposition and the former Minister of Finance, Haki Shatri, say that the government is trying to deceive the citizens and create manipulation of figures. According to Shatri, the real number of employees is 370 thousand, reports KosovaPress. 

The results of the Labor Force Survey for the third quarter of 2023 show that about two-thirds of the population in Kosovo, 1 million 180 thousand 450 people, are of working age, where 697 thousand 191 citizens were inactive. While employed persons were 432 thousand 40.

 "The rate of non-activity continues to remain quite high, 59.1 percent. The rate of inactivity among women was very pronounced at 75.2 percent, compared to men, 42.0 percent. Young people who are not employed, do not follow education or training are 103 thousand and 35", says the report of the Labor Force Survey for Q3 2023 by the Statistics Agency of Kosovo. 

 Further, according to the official data of KAS, it is said that 2022 thousand 403 citizens between the ages of 813-15 were employed in 64. In 2017, 357 thousand 95 citizens were employed, while in 2014 there were 323 thousand 508.

According to official data in the Trust, in 2023 there were 442 thousand 383 active accounts, in 2022 there were 428 thousand 891, in 2017 there were 352 thousand 849 citizens and in 2014 there were 285 thousand 914 active accounts. 

Days ago, the Minister of Finance, Hekuran Murati, wrote that the number of active accounts in 2023, i.e. active accounts in the Trust, was 442 thousand 383, adding that with these figures they are denying the opposition.

In contrast to the government, the opposition considers that the Ministry of Finance has used statistics from situations where it subsidized temporarily, in which citizens were obliged to register for a period to receive the subsidies. 

The deputy from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Ferat Shala, says that this ministry continues to play with figures and numbers.

Even the deputy from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, Pal Lekaj, says that this government is trying to deceive the citizens with unrealistic statistics.

Even the former Minister of Finance, Haki Shatri, estimates that the government is manipulating public opinion with numbers. While he has explained the number of employment, he shows the real number of employees.

Meanwhile, the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Kosovo, Lulzim Rafuna, considers that this situation from the Ministry of Finance is nothing to brag about. According to him, the increase should occur when unemployment is reduced to the minimum possible.

The majority also speaks about these figures presented. The deputy from the ruling party, Armend Muja, tells KosovaPress that not all active accounts in the Trust are new jobs. According to him, from the time of the pandemic until the last report of ASK, there are about 100 thousand who have been reactivated in the labor market.

Meanwhile, the Tax Administration of Kosovo has not responded to KosovaPress regarding the number of employees in 2023 and over the years.