The path of consumption adjustment is occurring in a context where real wages continue to contract, job creation has slowed, and the liquidity remaining from the 2021 stimulus measures has been drying up. Between April and July, aggregate employment showed little increase. By categories, there was a drop in salaried workers, which contrasts with the increase in the number of employers and self-employed. By sectors, most new jobs were concentrated in activities related to services, construction and industry, offset by trade and 2  other economic activities. All in all, the unemployment rate remained below its averages of the last two decades, standing at 7.9% in July. The slowdown in job creation has occurred in a context of shrinking demand for workers. The Online Job Postings index calculated by the Central Bank has seen month-over-month declines since March, while business expectations (IMCE) regarding three-month employment have continued to deteriorate and are still in pessimistic territory. According to our Business Perceptions Survey (EPN) for August, 30% of firms expect that in twelve months' time their staff will be lower than at present, and only 15% expect it to increase. However, as can be seen from the results of the August IPN, the difficulty for firms to recruit workers has diminished, a fact in which the lower demand seems to play an important role. On the other hand, labor supply has paused its recovery (figure 5).
However, the reactivation of credit activity remains a challenging goal, which would require encouragement of the final demand and generation of business plans valid for bank financing, reduction of real and perceived risk in the economy, review of development strategies and commercial banks’ lending policies, as well as reduction of cost and non-cost elements in lending. All these factors are envisaged to gradually improve throughout the year; however, they will remain far from the pre-crisis levels. Bank of Albania’s monetary policy will continue to be prudent, chiefly oriented towards achievement of inflation target. The recent upward inflation trend might have been motivated by temporary-action and limited-intensity supply factors. The Bank of Albania has envisaged  BIS Review 28/2010  1  that the exceeding of 4 percent inflation rate will be for a short period of time and will not be followed by steady inflationary pressures. Our projections show that consumer price inflation will fall gradually towards the 3 percent targeted rate during 2010. However, we remain committed to taking all appropriate steps to ensure this performance and meet our legal mandate for price stability in the economy. 2  BIS Review 28/2010