Ghana’s labour market added workers and jobs in 2025, but youth unemployment and informal work remain stubbornly high, according to the Ghana in Numbers, 2025 report published by the Ghana Statistical Service. The figures cover the first three quarters of the year and put national unemployment at 12.8 percent.
Labour force participation climbed to 74.5 percent from 67.1 percent in 2022, and the employment-to-population ratio rose to 65.0 percent from 58.3 percent. Yet more than 70 percent of jobs stay informal, and the report calls for targeted job creation, skills development and the formalisation of work.
“Informality, youth joblessness, and job quality gaps highlight the need for targeted job creation, skills development, and formalization of employment.”
Ghana in Numbers, 2025, Ghana Statistical Service
The share of working-age Ghanaians who are working or looking for work averaged 74.5 percent between the first and third quarters of 2025. That compares with 67.1 percent in 2022, which means more people have entered the labour market in the period.
The report describes a dip in 2024 followed by a strong recovery in 2025. Both participation and employment ratios have improved since 2022, it notes, although the figures say nothing about the quality of the work people have found.
Employment Gains Reach 13.3 Million Workers
An average of 13.3 million people held jobs across the first three quarters of 2025. The employment-to-population ratio of 65.0 percent shows that a larger share of working-age Ghanaians now has work than in 2022, when the ratio stood at 58.3 percent.
The national unemployment rate averaged 12.8 percent over the same period. The report states that this is down from a peak in earlier years, though it does not name the year of that peak.
Informality remains the defining feature of Ghanaian employment. More than 70 percent of jobs are informal, which the report describes as lacking social security, regular pay and job security.
A related measure points the same way. An average of 9.7 million people held vulnerable jobs in the second and third quarters of 2025, which the report links to precarious conditions. The report warns that informal employment limits prospects for income stability and career progression, and it ranks that limit among the main gaps in the labour market.
Youth Unemployment Remains the Sharpest Gap
Young people carry the heaviest burden. Unemployment among those aged 15 to 24 averaged 32.4 percent in the first three quarters of 2025, while the rate for those aged 15 to 35 stood at 21.9 percent. Both figures sit well above the national average of 12.8 percent.
The report reads the numbers as evidence of persistent barriers for young people entering the workforce. A rebound in overall participation, in other words, has not yet translated into jobs for the youngest workers.
The report also tracks young people who are not in employment, education or training, a group known as NEET. The rate averaged 19.1 percent among those aged 15 to 24 and 17.9 percent among those aged 15 to 35.
“Nearly 1 in 5 young people are disconnected from work and skills development.” Women make up more than 60 percent of the NEET youth, the report adds. That share suggests that gender gaps compound the problem for young women, who face obstacles to both work and training.
What the Report Says Must Change
The report’s conclusion points to three priorities. It calls for targeted job creation, skills development and the formalisation of employment, each of which answers one of the gaps in the figures.
Job creation speaks to the youth unemployment rate, since 32.4 percent of those aged 15 to 24 who want work cannot find it. Skills development speaks to the NEET group, whose members sit outside both employment and training. Formalisation speaks to the more than 70 percent of jobs that offer no social security or steady pay.
The figures show a labour market that has grown, with more people at work than in 2022. They also show that growth alone has not delivered the secure, well-paid jobs that young Ghanaians need, and that the next set of quarterly figures will test whether the rebound extends to them.
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