The Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey (AHIES) third-quarter labour statistics released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) have revealed that about 1.76 million persons were unemployed in the third quarter (Q3) of 2022.
Highlights of the report, presented by the Government Statistician Professor Samuel Kobina Annim in Accra, indicated that within the 1.76 million, two out of every three unemployed persons are females.
The report also showed that close to 7.5 million persons remained employed throughout the three quarters, out of the about-11 million persons employed in each quarter. This indicates that across the three quarters about 3.5 million persons were moving in and out of employment, depicting vulnerabilities.
Another key finding in the report was the transition from informal employment to unemployment, which is on average five times more than from formal employment into unemployment.
Additionally, two out of every three unemployed persons in Q3 that were employed in Q1 were in vulnerable employment in the first quarter; and between Q2 and Q3, the population that is triple-burdened – simultaneously unemployed, food insecure and multi-dimensionally poor – increased by almost 55,000.
The report provides statistics on economic activity status, employment status; unemployment rates; youth not in employment, education or training (NEET); and labour mobility across quarters, specifically movements in and out of employment, and across economic sectors – agriculture, industry and services.
The deputy-Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Bright Wireko-Brobbey – who doubled as chair for the programme, noted that data is essential to a country that wants to enhance the welfare of its workers.
At the ministerial level, he added, there is keen interest in such quarterly labour statistics as they provide data to support the implementation of their mandate to ensure decent work for all in Ghana.
Furthermore, Mr. Wireko-Brobbey noted that producting such data for policymaking is in line with the country’s aim to achieve the SDGs – particularly SDG 8 on decent work and productive employment; the AU Agenda 2063 and the Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies, 2017-2024: An Agenda for Jobs: Creating Prosperity and Equal Opportunity for All.
AHIES is the first nationally representative high-frequency household panel survey in Ghana. It is being conducted to obtain quarterly and annual data on household final consumption expenditure, and a wide range of demographic, economic and welfare variables – including statistics on labour, food security, multi-dimensional poverty and health status for research, planning and policymaking.
