Wrote: Endrit Berisha
It has been claimed that Prime Minister Albin Kurti has said that employment in Kosovo has increased by 45 percent in the last three years.
The publication was initially made on the Albanian-language medium "ekonomiaonline.com" on Thursday (August 29) and was then similarly broadcast by several other portals.
What's wrong with this claim?
After verification by hibrid.info, it appears that the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, did not say that employment in Kosovo has increased by 45 percent in the last three years.
Link to the article from "ekonomiaonline.com":
https://archive.ph/56DPL#selection-821.0-824.0
"The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has said that employment in Kosovo has increased by 45 percent due to government support, while he said that they remain committed to supporting the private sector, which he described as an important factor in employment and economic growth, reports Ekonomia Online," it is said in the introduction to the article of this medium.
The article then states that Kurti, at the ceremony signing contracts with beneficiaries of the Balanced Regional Development Program, stated that employment has increased by 20 percent in the last three years.
The article was later changed. The introduction remained the same while there were changes to Kurti's quote.
The 45 percent was mentioned in the original quote on the growth of Gross Domestic Product, but this has been changed in the improved quote.
Excerpt from the original article:
"'The Government of the Republic of Kosovo is committed to supporting the private sector, which is a factor in the commitment and development of businesses in the country. The state budget has increased by 35 percent, which has undoubtedly contributed to the increase in profits and the expansion of regional development activity. In 2024, the Gross Domestic Product is 45 percent higher, and this has also translated into employment, where employment has increased in Kosovo. We have allocated 5.5 million euros for small businesses to support them from local challenges,' said Kurti."
Changed part:
"'The Government of the Republic of Kosovo is committed to supporting the private sector, which is an important factor in employment and economic growth in our country. Compared to 2022, now that we are talking about 2024, the Gross Domestic Product is 1/3 higher, while the annual state budget is 35 percent higher. Of course, this has also translated into increased employment, compared to three years ago, employment in Kosovo has increased by 20 percent, including the doubling of young people employed. And undoubtedly, this has also influenced the increase in profits and the expansion of private sector activity,' said Kurti, as he also mentioned the assistance to businesses through the Economic Recovery Package."
The article with the same initial claim was also published in several other media outlets (“indexonline.net","kosova-sot.info","botapress.info","atvlive.tv","gazeta10.com","dukagjini.com","gazetaexpress.com","klankosova.tv","zeri.info")
Analyze:
The claim that Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that employment in Kosovo has increased by 45 percent in the last three years is not accurate.
The publication was initially made on the Albanian-language medium "ekonomiaonline.com" on Thursday (August 29) and was then similarly broadcast by several other portals.
The 45 percent was mentioned in Kurti's initial quote on the growth of Gross Domestic Product, but this has been changed in the improved quote.
Based on the work methodology, hibrid.info considers this claim to be "wrong".
Rating:
The "Error" rating is given to informational content in which, during the compilation or publication process, errors occur by publishing incorrect information (especially when dealing with information in figures) or by broadcasting poorly verified news, without the clear intention of misinforming the public.