It is common to hear government officials tout the number of “jobs” created under their watch. Yet for many young people struggling on the streets of Accra or Kumasi, the reality is quite different.
These young men are working tirelessly, some selling sachet water, others volunteering or running errands, but still struggling to make ends meet. It is emerging that, they may have a job, but they are not necessarily employed.
This was the striking distinction drawn by Labour Economist, Professor Baah Boateng, who insists that in Ghana, we must be careful not to confuse the two.
Speaking at a World Bank event on the challenges of Ghana’s labour market, Prof. Boateng explained that in the developed world, the labour literature often equates jobs with employment because most work opportunities there are formal and paid.
But in a country like Ghana, there is a need to see them differently.
“In the labour literature, we equate employment to jobs because the literature comes from the developed world. But when you come to developing countries like Ghana, employment and jobs are different. So when the government is coming up with policies, we have to look at employment and jobs differently,” he explained.
He illustrated with his personal example that being on the panel means he has been engaged in some work. To him, a job exists in that sense. But since he is not being paid, it does not amount to employment.
However, on the other hand, since Methodist University Ghana hired him as a lecturer, then both a job and employment have been created because it is formal, structured, and remunerated.
“I’m here, I’m not going to be paid, but if I’m going to be paid, a job has been created for me, but the World Bank is not my employer, so employment has not been created. But Methodist University Ghana has created a job and employment for me at the same time,” he indicated.
The difference may sound subtle, but its implications are enormous. In Ghana’s informal-driven economy, many people are “working”, pushing trucks, hawking in traffic, farming on family land, but their labour does not translate into employment as understood in official policy terms.
They lack contracts, steady income, social security, or legal protection.
This is why Ghana’s youth bulge continues to pose a serious challenge. As Prof. Boateng points out, job opportunities and employment opportunities are not keeping pace with the growing supply of labour.
Policies that trumpet “job creation” often fail to recognize the structural gap between hustling for survival and accessing sustainable employment.
“We have to put them in perspective, otherwise we would not be able to get it. So employment opportunities and, of course, job opportunities are not being created the way they’re supposed to be,” the Labour Economist noted.
He is calling for a sharper, more honest policymaking. The real measure of progress, he suggests, is not just the number of people keeping themselves busy, but how many have dignified, secure, and paid work that can sustain their lives and families.
