Unemployment in Ghana falls to 13.6%, though youth joblessness remains a concern.

Ghana experienced a decline in its unemployment rate to 13.6 percent by the end of 2024, down from 14.6 percent in 2023, indicating a modest one-percentage point reduction.

The figures are contained in the latest Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey (Fourth Quarter Labour Statistics 2024) released by the Ghana Statistical Service.

The data reveals that the challenge remains most pronounced among the youth, with 22.5 percent of Ghanaians aged 15 to 35 currently unemployed, underscoring persistent pressures on first-time jobseekers and graduates despite the broader gains in employment.

The Q4 2024 data presents a complex picture, with total employment reaching 12.73 million, a year-on-year increase of 1.15 million, while the number of unemployed persons also climbed by approximately 200,000 compared to Q4 2023, indicating rapid labour-force growth that surpassed absorption.

This combination indicates expanding opportunities alongside continued weaknesses in job quality and the economy’s ability to rapidly absorb new entrants.

Q4 gender dynamics reveal female employment consistently exceeding male employment throughout 2024, with the employment gap expanding from around 632,000 in Q1 2022 to roughly 1.12 million in Q4 2024, highlighting robust female labour participation and job creation.

However, the survey underscores persistent disparities in unemployment and underemployment by sex and locality, pointing to uneven job quality and differing access to stable, formal work.

Furthermore, the GSS identifies high levels of NEET (youth not in employment, education, or training) across age cohorts, emphasizing NEET’s role in contributing to youth exclusion and long-term labour underutilization.