Ghana’s unemployment rate edged down marginally to 13.0% in the third quarter of 2025, pointing to modest labour market gains that remain insufficient to absorb a growing workforce, particularly young people.
Data from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey covering the first three quarters of 2025 show that unemployment declined from 13.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 12.8% in the first quarter of 2025, eased further to 12.6% in the second quarter, before rising again to 13.0% in the third quarter, reflecting an average unemployment rate of 12.8% in the first three quarters of 2025.
Across the period, more than 15 million people participated in the labour force, with about 87% employed in each quarter. Employment increased by over 330,000 persons between the first and third quarters, rising from 13.09 million to 13.42 million. Female employment consistently exceeded male employment throughout the period.
However, Government Statistician Dr Iddrisu Alhassan said the pace of job creation remains too slow to drive a sustained decline in unemployment.
“Jobs are increasing, but the unemployment rate is not falling in a sustained way, he said, adding that new job creation is still not fast enough to absorb new entrants, especially young people and urban job seekers”, he noted.
Another major concern from the report is youth unemployment, which continues to lag behind national trends. In the third quarter of 2025, unemployment among persons aged 15 to 24 years stood at 32.4%, more than double the national average.
The survey shows that about 1.34 million young people in this age group, representing 21.5%, were not in employment, education or training. Among persons aged 15 to 35 years, nearly 2.0 million, or 19.5%, were not in employment, education or training. Regional disparities were pronounced, with the Central Region recording the highest NEET rate at 25.3 per cent and the Oti Region the lowest at 9.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Services sector, per the report, remains the largest employer in the country, engaging 6.0 million people in the third quarter, followed by Agriculture with 5.0 million and Industry with 2.5 million. In percentage terms, 44.5% of employed persons worked in Services, 37.2% in Agriculture and 18.2% in Industry.
Ten out of the sixteen regions recorded more than half of their workforce in Agriculture, with the Savannah Region posting the highest share at 71.1%.
Despite rising employment, the report notes job quality remains another major concern. More than 72% of employed persons were engaged in vulnerable employment in the third quarter. Vulnerable employment was significantly higher among females at 79.1% compared with 63.7% for males.
The report also provides new insights into skills utilisation and work arrangements. While over half of workers reported that their skills were fully utilised, about one in five said they were underutilised, particularly women and rural workers. Skills and educational mismatches persist across the labour market.
Night work remains limited, with only 1.6% of workers regularly engaged in night shifts in the second and third quarters. However, nearly half of workers not currently in shift-based work expressed interest, signalling untapped demand for alternative work arrangements.
These findings, the government statistician, Dr Alhassan, asserts, underscore the urgency of policies that expand labour absorption while improving job quality. He noted that sustained reductions in unemployment will depend on deliberate policy choices that link job creation, skills development and programmes such as the 24 Hour Economy to real labour market demand.