The number of jobs advertised in selected print and online media, which gauges labour demand in the economy, declined in the second quarter of 2021 relative to what was observed in the second quarter of 2020, data from the Bank of Ghana has revealed.

In total, 8,251 job adverts were recorded in the second quarter of 2021 as compared with 9,582 in the second quarter of 2020, indicating a decline of 13.9%.

Similarly, the number of job vacancies advertised in the review period dipped by 6.7% from 8,840 recorded for the first quarter of 2021.

The decrease in the number of jobs advertised, the report from the Bank of Ghana reflected the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on businesses.

Sector Distribution

The Services Sector maintained its dominance as the leading job-providing sector in the economy, accounting for 79.0% of total job adverts recorded in the second quarter of 2021. This is compared with a share of 80.8% it recorded in the second quarter of 2020.

Industry followed with a share of 17.4%, up from 15.2% in quarter 2, 2020, while the Agriculture Sector accounted for 3.6% of the job adverts during the period, compared with 4.0% of total job adverts recorded for the second quarter of 2020.

Further analysis revealed that the main requirements for skilled employees were tertiary education qualification(s) and a minimum of three years’ working experience.

This category, classified as Professionals and Technicians, collectively accounted for 51.4% of total jobs advertised during the second quarter of 2021, relative to 49.7% recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2020.

This was followed by the categories classified as Sales & Other Service Workers (30.2% in quarter 2, 2021 vs. 35.5% in quarter 2, 2020), Artisans & Machine Operators (9.0% in Q2:2021 vs. 8.6% in Q2:2020), Secretarial & Clerical Staff (6.9% in Q2:2021 vs. 4.7% in Q2:2020) and ‘Others’ (2.5% in Q2:2021 vs. 1.5% in Q2:2020).