Ghana plans to channel support towards nine productive sectors with significant job-creation potential under a proposed GH¢10 New Economy policy expected to be introduced in the 2027 Budget, as the government seeks to address the disconnect between economic growth and employment.
The policy is expected to prioritise businesses capable of expanding production and creating jobs as the country moves from economic stability towards accelerated growth.
The intervention comes amid concerns that Ghana’s economic expansion has not generated sufficient decent employment opportunities for its growing working population, despite improvements in key macroeconomic indicators.
The Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr Thomas Nyarko Ampem, acknowledged the challenge, saying the urgency of addressing unemployment had become greater than ever.
He said the government would focus on supporting job creators and strengthening productive businesses to ensure that economic growth translated into more employment opportunities.
His comments follow the release of the maiden Ghana in Numbers report by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), which showed that the economy expanded by 6% in 2025 to GH¢1.4 trillion, but continued to face difficulties generating enough decent jobs.
The report, launched in Accra on Thursday, highlighted improvements in macroeconomic performance, including declining inflation, a reduced fiscal deficit and stronger international reserves.
Inflation fell from 23.8% in December 2024 to 5.4% in December 2025, while gross international reserves reached US$13.8 billion, equivalent to 5.7 months of import cover.
The services sector accounted for 45.9% of economic output in 2025, followed by industry at 31.3% and agriculture at 22.8%.
However, Government Statistician Dr Alhassan Iddrisu said the employment benefits of economic expansion remained limited, particularly as business formation continued to outpace job creation.
He said Ghana had 2.64 million businesses in 2024, including enterprises operating in open spaces and mobile businesses.
Although the number of business establishments operating in buildings nearly tripled between 2014 and 2024, the number of people employed by them only doubled.
The report further showed that nine out of every 10 establishments employed between one and five people, while only 4,874 businesses had 100 or more workers.
Only 7.7% of establishments were formally registered, highlighting the scale of informality within the business sector.
Dr Iddrisu said labour force participation increased from 67.1% in 2022 to 74.5% in 2025, while the unemployment rate averaged 12.8% during the first three quarters of 2025.
He also raised concerns about the nearly two million young people who were not in employment, education or training (NEET), noting that women accounted for more than 60% of the group.
He urged policymakers to place greater emphasis on the informal sector and develop targeted interventions to bring more young people into productive economic activities.
Among his recommendations were measures to formalise the 92% of businesses operating informally, improve access to affordable private-sector credit and introduce region-specific employment policies.
He said private-sector credit stood at just 7.4% of GDP, limiting the financing available to businesses seeking to expand operations and create jobs.
Dr Iddrisu also urged the government to use data from the Ghana in Numbers portal to guide national and regional development planning.
Mr Ampem said the government would strengthen collaboration with the GSS by increasing domestic funding for statistical activities and improving coordination across the national statistical system.
The proposed GH¢10 New Economy policy will therefore be a significant test of how effectively government support can translate into business expansion, increased productivity and sustainable employment.
