Government says the average unemployment rate for the first three quarters of 2023 was 14.7% with the rate among females being consistently higher than that of males.

This represents a 1.1% increase from the 13.6% recorded in 2022.

According to the 2023 Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey Third Quarter Labour Statistics Report, the sharp increase in the unemployment rate of females between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 resulted in the wider unemployment gender gap in 2023 as compared to 2022.

The report also indicated that the difference in the unemployment rates between urban and rural areas widened successively for the first three quarters of 2023.

But in the second and third quarters of 2023, the urban unemployment rate was almost twice compared to rural areas.

When it comes to the regions, the report explained that across all quarters, only four regions (Eastern, Bono East, Oti and Upper West) recorded unemployment rates lower than the national rate.

Again, Greater Accra and Ashanti region consistently recorded unemployment rates higher than the national average during this same period.

This data comes on the back of claims by Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has successfully generated an unprecedented 2.1 million jobs for the youth over the past seven years.

Speaking at the launch of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA)'s Business and Employment Assistance Programme in Sunyani on Monday, December 11, 2023, Dr Bawumia emphasised the government's dedication to job creation.

“This programme (Business and Employment Assistance Programme) is a testament to our government’s focus on job creation. Unemployment was a real problem and we even had the unemployment graduate association. Our focus, therefore, was to improve job creation through the public and private sector,” he said.

The Vice President added that, “So far, we have created in the private and public sectors 2.1 million jobs; 975 by the private sector and 1.2 million by the public sector. The data is there and this cannot be disputed.”

“I can say with all humility that no government in the history of the 4th Republic has done this (created 1.2m jobs) and this cannot be challenged. It is the hard fact.”

These assertions were again reiterated in February 2024 by the Vice President.

Addressing the nation at the UPSA auditorium in Accra, Dr. Bawumia, who is the flagbearer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), stressed that the Akufo-Addo administration has recruited 100,000 more health workers, 100,000 teachers, and have doubled fire service personnel recruitment.

“What is probably the most remarkable development in terms of the economy is that our government has created 2.1 million jobs between 2017 and 2022 notwithstanding the global economic crisis. The public sector recruited 1.2 million people while the private sector created 975,000 jobs (per SSNIT data).

"We recruited 100,000 more health workers, 100,000 more teachers, more than doubled the fire service personnel, etc. Our government has quite clearly created more jobs in a seven year period than any government. This is truly remarkable under the circumstances even though we still have to create more jobs,” he remarked.

Find the full report below: