UNEMPLOYMENT IN Ghana

According to records sourced from the Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey Quarter Three Labour Bulletin by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). The average rate of unemployment in the country has risen to 14.7 percent in the first three quarters of 2023. This marks a 1.1% rise from the 2022 figure.

The number of unemployed youth aged between 15 and 35 rose from about 1.2 million to over 1.3 million during the same period with the rate among females consistently higher than males. The report, based on data from 2022 and 2023, reveals that over 500,000 Ghanaians transitioned from employment to unemployment during this period.

Female unemployment consistently exceeded male unemployment, contributing to a widening gender gap compared to the previous year, especially due to a significant increase in female unemployment between Q4 2022 and Q1 2023, as highlighted in the report.

The report highlighted a progressive widening of the unemployment gap between urban and rural areas throughout the initial three quarters of 2023.The number of employed persons in urban areas remained nearly the same in the first three quarters of 2023 after quarterly variations in 2022. The number of employed persons in rural areas increased for five consecutive quarters from 2022 Q2, before declining in the third quarter of 2023.In the second and third quarters, urban unemployment rates were nearly twice as high as those in rural areas. Only four regions namely Eastern, Bono East, Oti, and Upper West reported unemployment rates below the national average across all quarters.

Greater Accra and the Ashanti region consistently experienced unemployment rates surpassing the national average during this timeframe.

High unemployment in Ghana can be attributed to the disconnect between education and the skills demanded by the labor market and other factors.

Below are some Key Stats