Fahrie Rexhepi from the municipality of Lipjan says that she will be forced to leave Kosovo because of the hard lifestyle she has in Lipjan. First of all, she can’t find a job with normal working conditions.
“The rate of unemployment in Lipjan is a catastrophe. If I didn`t have my brother in Germany to support me financially, I wouldn`t afford even to go to the city. Thus, my only solution, against my will, is to leave my country next month the latest,” Rexhepi says.
Even if she finds a of job, she still wouldn’t change her mind about leaving Kosovo, since “the salaries are very low.” Any job that pays more requires a university diploma.
There are around 57,600 inhabitants in Lipjan, of them 8,073 are employed in all sectors, according to the latest statistics of the public organization for initiatives and local support (POLIS). Whereas, according to the statistics of the municipality done by the Institute for Advanced Studies GAP in 2016, the overall number of the employees in the public sector was 1,506, whereas the number of people recorded as unemployed was 9,668.
Valmir Xhemshiti from Lipjan, a student at the University of Prishtina, says that because of unemployment in Kosovo, he is forced do seasonal job outside Kosovo with a student-intern visa.
“There are some companies who help students at least during the summer to go and work outside Kosovo, even though it is a simple job we get paid more than in Kosovo,” Xhemshiti says.
Whereas Agnesa, also from Lipjan, who finished her Bachelor studies at the University of Prishtina (UP), said that she had to continue her studies in Austria in order to have more prospects in finding a job.
“Even though I finished my Bachelor studies at UP, I had to further continue my Master studies at the University of Wien in order to find a better job in my country. As for the cost, even though Kosovo students have a discount, still it is a bit difficult for us,” she says.
According to the latest data of the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS), the rate of unemployment has reached 32.9 percent, whereas the rate of employment has reached 25.2 percent. The rate of unemployment is higher for women – 36.6 percent — compared to men – 31.8 percent.
Albert Gashi, 22 years old, says that even though he is about to finish his studies at the University of Prishtina, his aim for the future is to live somewhere far from Kosovo.
“If today I had a chance, I would leave the country I`m living in. Initially, at the department where I`m studying, there is no practice for the work I want to do in the future. The practice is a basic need in order for someone to do his profession/passion,” he says.
He also adds that the level of unemployment in the country, and especially in the municipality of Lipjan, pushes youth to migrate.
From a Kosovo Migration Report of 2014 made by KAS, results show that the number of Kosovar migrants is around 820,000. In the 2009-2014 periods, 47.2% of migrants were of the 25-44 age-group, whereas the dominating age group was 30-34, which comprised 12.7% of the whole migrant population.
Fatbardha Terpeza
