Unemployment Rate Rises From 13.4% to 13.9% As Nearly 850k Ghanaians Lose Jobs

Ghana’s unemployment rate has risen from the 13.4% recorded at the end quarter of the year to 13.9% at the end of June as nearly 850,000 people who had jobs at the beginning of the year have lost their job.

This was disclosed by Government Statistician Prof. Samuel Kobina Anim when he presented findings of the 2022 annual household income and expenditure quarterly reports on food insecurity, multidimensional poverty and labour statistics.

He also revealed that 1.8 million youth are neither in education, employment or training. About two-thirds of the employed population are engaged in vulnerable employment with significant variation across urban areas (about 56.4%) and rural (80%).

Additionally, the survey revealed about 390,000 persons 15 years and older unemployed in quarter 1 remain unemployed in quarter 2 of 2022. Between the first and second quarters of 2022, about 445,000 persons 15 years and older outside the labour force join the number of unemployed persons. Close to 850,000 persons 15 years and older employed in quarter 1 transition to unemployment status in quarter 2 while more than
500,000 unemployed persons gain employment over the same period.

About two-thirds of the employed population are engaged in vulnerable employment with significant variation across urban areas (about 56.4%) and rural (80%). Also, the population that is multidimensionally poor increased from about 13.6 (44.1%) million people in the first quarter (Q1) of 2022 to 14.4 million (46.7%) in the second quarter (Q2).

The report also revealed that Among persons in the labour force (15 years and older) about
380,000 are simultaneously food insecure, multidimensionally poor,
and unemployed.