Isaac Kofi Agyei: Current youth unemployment rate is far worse than 2017-2020 average of 9%

“Youth unemployment has also registered a decline from an average of 12.92%, between 2014 to 2016 to an average of 9.00% between 2017 to 2020”. Those were the words of the Vice President, Dr. Bawumia.

Absolutely TRUE! According to data put out by the World Bank, Ghana’s average youth unemployment rate indeed reduced from 12.92% (2014-2016) to 9.0% (2017-2020).

Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) (modeled ILO estimate) - Ghana | Data (worldbank.org)

According to the World Bank data, the country’s youth unemployment rate increased from 13.384% in 2014 to 13.998% in 2015 then declined significantly to 11.388% in 2016 translating into a period average of 12.923%.

However, current statistics contained in the 2021 Population and Housing Census put youth unemployment (15-35 years) at 19.7% representing a percentage rise of 118.89% relative to the 9.0% between 2017 and 2020.

Simply put, youth unemployment in Ghana has more than doubled from an average of 9.0% (2017-2020) to 19.7% in 2021.

Further analysis shows unemployment rate among the population 15 years and older is 13.4% and is higher for females (15.5%) than males (11.6%). The 19.7% unemployment rate among the population between 15 and 35 is even much higher for young adults 15-24 years (32.8%).

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Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia

Unemployment in Ghana

Youth Unemployment