The Ghana Statistical Service’s (GSS) first edition of the “National Report on Productivity, Employment, and Growth” has revealed that average earnings in Ghana increased at a slower pace than productivity growth.

The report also showed that sub-sectors of the economy with the highest earnings growth relative to productivity include utilities, construction, and tourism.

“Earnings growth has been slower relative to productivity in the more informal sector such as household agriculture, and trade and repair services”, it said. 

The report looked at statistics on labour and total productivity trends from 1991 to 2022.

Speaking at the launch of the report, the Government Statistician, Professor. Samuel Kobina Annim stated “We are gathered here in pursuance of the new focus that we have adopted as a Service. And this new focus has to do with not presenting statistical outputs but presenting statistics in a manner that is policy relevant. What we are doing today is focusing on three key areas: productivity, employment, and economic growth.”

He further explained, “Labour productivity measures how efficiently workers produce goods and services over a specific period. Total productivity measures how efficiently multiple inputs, like labour, capital, and materials, are used together to produce output and drive growth.”

The report indicates that Ghana has achieved a moderate level of labour productivity growth, with accelerated growth between 2010 and 2016 following the beginning of the extraction of oil.  The country recorded annual labour productivity that is higher than the average for lower – middle income countries but lower than that of a higher middle income country. However, the overall impact on total productivity has been limited, as growth has been concentrated in a few sectors, such as mining, rather than spreading across the broader economy.

A closer look at sectoral trends reveals significant variations. While productivity has increased in areas such as household agriculture and trade, these sectors have also seen job losses, as workers move into lower-productivity roles in construction and urban services. The mining sector has achieved high productivity growth but has not generated substantial job opportunities. In contrast, commercial agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and utilities have recorded both productivity gains and job creation.

This highlights the need for investment in other sub-sectors than can generate productivity, decent employment growth and technological modernisation. The report concludes by highlighting the key sectors requiring intensified investments in labour and capital due to their contribution to both economic growth and employment creation over the period. These include commercial agriculture, transportation and utilities, and manufacturing.