|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
According to the Ghana Statistical Service, Ghana experienced a significant increase in youth unemployment, with a notable surge of 14.6%. The overall unemployment rate for the period also rose to 14.7%, depicting a 1.1% increase compared to the figures from 2022.
One concerning aspect was the gender disparities observed, where female unemployment consistently surpassed male unemployment, leading to a widening gender gap compared to the previous year.
This discrepancy was particularly pronounced due to a significant rise in female unemployment between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, as highlighted in the 2023 Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey Third Quarter Labour Statistics Report.
The report further highlighted a growing disparity in unemployment rates between urban and rural areas during the first three quarters of 2023. In the second and third quarters, urban unemployment rates were nearly twice as high as those in rural areas.
In terms of regional variations, only the Eastern, Bono East, Oti, and Upper West regions reported unemployment rates below the national average across all quarters. On the other hand, the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions consistently experienced rates higher than the national average.
The high unemployment in Ghana can be attributed, in part, to a mismatch between the skills possessed by job seekers and the skills demanded by the labor market. This misalignment between education and the needs of the job market can result in a lack of suitable employment opportunities for individuals, particularly young people entering the workforce.
