A recent study by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has revealed that despite their availability and willingness to work, a significant portion of well-educated Ghanaians struggle to secure employment.
According to the Ghana 2023 Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey (AHIES), spanning from January 2022 to September 2023, approximately 22.3% of individuals who experienced unemployment for a continuous 21-month period held tertiary education qualifications.
Additionally, nearly 48% of those facing unemployment had completed secondary education.
The Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, shared these labor statistics, emphasizing that around 200,000 individuals encountered unemployment spells lasting at least 12 months during this period.
Notably, the issue was more prevalent among females, urban residents, individuals with secondary education, and those aged between 15 and 24 years.
“This number reduces to about 752,000 persons who as of the third quarter of 2023 had not been employed.
The survey differentiated unemployment spells by tracking individuals unemployed for two quarters (six months) between the second and third quarters of 2023, those jobless for nine months from the first quarter to the third quarter of 2023, and those unemployed for the entire 21-month period from the first quarter of 2022 to the third quarter of 2023.
The study highlighted that the total number of people unemployed for six months in the second and third quarters of 2023 was approximately 1.3 million, decreasing to 752,000 by the third quarter of 2023. Professor Annim stressed the significance of addressing youth unemployment, which constituted over three-quarters of the total unemployed population of 1.85 million.
The report indicated a year-on-year increase in the unemployment rate, with specific regions experiencing notable variations. The Director of Research, Statistics, and Information Management at the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, George Amoah, emphasized the government’s reliance on such statistics for planning and expressed a commitment to leveraging the report to promote decent work for the population.