The 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) report has revealed that more females are unemployed than their male counterparts.
The PHC report has shown that females and the youth between the ages of 15 and 24 years are the hardest hit by the country’s unemployment situation.
According to the report, the unemployment rate among the female population is 15.5% higher than the rate for males, which is 11.6%.
The report further indicated that economic activity among males is substantially higher than that of females.
A news report showed that 63.5 per cent of males and 53 per cent of females were engaged in economic activities with the variation more pronounced in the rural areas.
About half a million persons 15 years and older are first time job seekers with almost equal numbers of males and females.
Overall, the report indicated that the country’s unemployment situation was now at its all-time high after increased population and low economic output.
It highlighted that the rate of people who were available for work but unable to find jobs had doubled to 13.4 per cent in 2021 from the 5.3 per cent recorded in 2010.
The 2021 figure, which was announced in the General Report on the 2021 Population and Housing Census, is now the highest since 1984 — when the country’s unemployment data was first reported.
Out of the economically active population of 11.54 million, the report showed that 1.55 million were unemployed.
In terms of regional breakdown, the report showed that the unemployment situation was worst in the Savannah Region but lowest in the Oti Region.
