“Pay is not the reason for leaving” – Berisha explains why citizens are leaving Kosovo

Pay is not the only factor pushing citizens to leave Kosovo, according to economist Brikena Berisha.

In the eighth episode of the “Rrugëtimi” podcast, Berisha spoke about emigration and the results of research carried out on the labour market, saying that systemic problems play an important role in people’s decision to leave, as Telegrafi reports.

She took as an example research in the gastronomy sector, where, she said, pay was seen not necessarily to be the main reason for leaving.

“When we did research in 2022 and 2025 in the gastronomy sector in Kosovo, we found, that is, a sector which has begun to be paid in Kosovo, even though there are many problems of professional responsibilities, because it is, that is, from work in the kitchen to perhaps even cleaning the toilet,” Berisha said.

Nevertheless, she said, workers’ answers highlighted other problems.

“But it was said that pay is not the reason for leaving. It is these systemic problems: healthcare, schooling, social protection — and because of these reasons they choose to leave Kosovo,” she declared.

Berisha said visa liberalisation has also created more opportunities for citizens to go abroad and try life and work in another country.

The emigration issue, she said, must be seen beyond a simple comparison of wages between Kosovo and other countries.

During the podcast she argued that the security a citizen has about healthcare, schooling, social protection and the family’s future directly influences the decision whether to continue life in Kosovo or to leave.