Job Creation and Demand for Skills in Kosovo : What Can We Learn from Job Portal Data?

In Kosovo, employers report significant skill shortages, which limits firm growth and job creation. To understand the labor market dynamics and employer needs in real time, this paper analyzes the content of job postings using data from major online job portals from 2018. The findings show that the skills that are most in demand are socioemotional skills (especially related to extraversion), foreign language skills, and computer skills. The importance of these skills is transversal, cutting not only across occupations and industries, but also universally demanded in all education fields. The need for these skills is expressed more often and more explicitly in postings for jobs requiring higher levels of experience. Moreover, job platforms are used almost exclusively for filling high-skill occupations, especially in Kosovo's capital city, Pristina, whereas many low- and medium-skill jobs and jobs outside the capital are filled through informal channels. Overall, online data can be a useful tool for policy makers and other stakeholders to help align career services, training programs, and educational curricula with the skill needs of firms in real time.