The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has reported steady growth in employment and a decline in the national unemployment rate in 2024. However, much of this growth occurred within the informal sector, raising concerns about job security and sustainability.
Speaking at the release of the July edition of the Quarterly Labour Statistics of the Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey (AHIES) in Accra, Government Statistician, Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, revealed that unemployment fell from a peak of 14.9% in the first quarter of 2023 to 13.1% by the end of 2024. Ghana’s working-age population, aged 15 years and above, stood at 14.2 million.
“Employment expanded steadily, with 409,000 more jobs created in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the third quarter. This modest decline in unemployment signals progress but reveals persistent disparities. Too many of these jobs remain informal and insecure,” Dr. Iddrisu said.
The AHIES report provided disaggregated insights into employment, unemployment, underemployment, and labour underutilisation, highlighting sectoral and demographic trends across the economy.
The Services sector remained the largest employer, with an average of 5.5 million jobs in 2024. Agriculture followed with 4.8 million jobs, while Industry accounted for 2.1 million. Despite this distribution, informality dominated across all three sectors.
The data showed a troubling picture for Ghana’s youth. Unemployment among those aged 15–24 averaged 32% in 2024, while those aged 15–35 recorded 22.5%. Seven out of ten unemployed persons were youth.
“This evidence highlights the urgency for more focused labour market policies such as retraining and reskilling programmes to tackle the persistent skills mismatch and improve employability,” Dr. Iddrisu stressed.
The Government Statistician urged the government to scale up apprenticeship schemes, expand job placement services, and reform Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to align training with industry needs. He also called for the creation of affordable credit avenues for small businesses to support job creation.
Dr. Iddrisu added that addressing unemployment cannot be the responsibility of government alone.
He encouraged the private sector to create structured internships and entry-level opportunities for graduates, and to strengthen partnerships with universities and training institutions to align academic programmes with labour market demands.
He further appealed to development partners to channel more resources into rural job creation initiatives and scalable youth employment programmes, while ensuring donor support is closely aligned with Ghana’s national employment priorities.
“Employment is growing, but the quality of jobs must improve. Tackling youth and long-term unemployment, bridging regional disparities, and formalising informal work remain urgent if Ghana is to achieve inclusive growth,” he added.
