The Institute of Progressive Governance (IPG), a policy think tank, has called on former President John Dramani Mahama to stop misleading the public by suggesting that unemployment was lower during his tenure compared to Akufo-Addo’s.
Referring to data from the Ghana Statistical Service and the World Bank, IPG emphasized that the unemployment situation today is actually more favorable than it was during Mr. Mahama’s time in office.
IPG also pointed out that the International Labour Organization (ILO) defines unemployment as those aged 15 and over who have not worked in the reference week, are available to work, and are actively seeking employment. This definition, according to the think tank, is used internationally to enable meaningful comparisons of unemployment rates between countries.
The think tank continued, “Unemployment rate is mathematically defined as the total number of the unemployed divided by the labour force and multiplied by 100%. Using this estimation with the data from the World Bank, the unemployment rate increased from 4.9% in 2006 to 5.4% in 2010. While the unemployment rate declined considerably to 2.2% in 2013, it unfortunately went up to 6.8% in 2015, the highest in over a decade!
“Even though President Mahama left the unemployment rate at 5.2% in 2016, the 6.8% unemployment rate registered under him as a president in 2015 still remains the highest since 2005! The average unemployment rate under Mr. Mahama as the president (from 2013 to 2016) is 4.65%!
IPG further outlined that under President Akufo-Addo, the highest recorded unemployment rate was 3.4% in 2017.
This figure slightly decreased to 3.3% in 2018 and 2019. However, in 2020, it rose back to 3.3%, maintaining this level through 2021.
A notable decline to 3.1% occurred in 2022, which continued into 2023. As a result, the average unemployment rate for the period from 2017 to 2023 is 3.24%.
“It is therefore misleading for Mr. John Mahama to tell Ghanaians that unemployment rates recorded under Akufo-Addo are worse than those recorded under him as a president of Ghana. Mr. Mahama’s average unemployment rate of 4.65% is higher than Nana Akuffo Addo’s 3.24%!” IPG opined.
The think tank pointed out that in its latest surveys, the Ghana Statistical Service has applied a more expansive definition of unemployment to determine the country’s unemployment rates.
“This definition relaxes the ILO’s condition of job chasing. The estimation is reasonable because Ghana’s hugely informal economy does not encourage job seekers to write applications or move from one office to the other in search of jobs. In reality, while many Ghanaian job seekers are not seeking jobs, most of them are available and ready to work. While this measure provides a close reality to Ghana’s unemployment situation, it cannot be used to compare to the unemployment situations in other countries. It is purely for internal policy purposes, and IPG commends Ghana Statistical Service for providing such additional information on the unemployment situation in the country”, they stated.
“Indeed, by using the broad measure of the unemployment rate, Ghana’s unemployment rate increased from 13.3% during the first quarter of 2022 to 14.9% in the third quarter of 2023 (see Ghana Statistical Service Report, February 2024, page 6).
“This does not mean that the unemployment rate of 5.2% (a narrow measure in 2016) left by Mr. Mahama is what has increased to 14.9% in 2023! No! That is wrong and misleading! Using the ILO’s measure (narrow measure), Ghana’s unemployment rate has declined from 5.2% in 2016 to 3.1% at the end of the third quarter of 2023,” IPG suggested.
In conclusion, IPG advised the campaign team of NDC to help Mr. John Dramani Mahama understand and appreciate technical issues before going public with them”, they added.
“The world would not take him seriously if he gets such elementary issues wrong!” IPG cautioned.
In conclusion, IPG recommended that the NDC campaign team guide Mr. John Dramani Mahama in understanding technical matters before addressing them publicly.
“The world would not take him seriously if he gets such elementary issues wrong!” IPG cautioned.