A recent report has unveiled that approximately 2.5 million young individuals, accounting for one-quarter of Ghanaian youth aged between 15 and 35 years, are not involved in any form of education, vocational training, or employment.
According to the study, the “Not in Education, Employment or Training” (NEET) phenomenon tends to decline as individuals age, with the highest NEET rates observed among 21-year-olds.
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The Ghana Statistical Service released the third-quarter labour statistics report of the Ghana 2022 Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey (AHIES), highlighting the regions with the highest NEET rates in the previous year's third quarter.
The regions of Savannah, North East, and Upper East recorded NEET rates of 27.8%, 24.3%, and 24.2% respectively.
The report also revealed that, on average, nearly 11 million individuals were employed across the three quarters of 2022, while approximately 7.5 million remained consistently employed. However, during the third quarter, around 320,000 people became unemployed out of the 8.6 million who were employed in both the first and second quarters.
Providing more insight into the report's findings, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim disclosed that in the third quarter, approximately 1.76 million individuals were unemployed, with the number of females being twice as high as males.
Professor Annim further noted that a significant transition occurred between employment sectors, with around 217,000 individuals who were employed in the Industrial sector in the first quarter transitioning to other sectors in the subsequent quarters.
Additionally, between the first and second quarters, around 155,000 individuals transitioned from formal to informal employment, while over 89,000 individuals in the informal sector shifted to and remained in the formal sector in the second and third quarters.
The services sector recorded the highest share of employed individuals in the first quarter who became unemployed in the second and third quarters at 57.7%, followed by the agriculture sector at 21.4%, and the industry sector at 20.9%.
During the launch of the report, Mr Bright Wireko-Brobby, the Deputy Minister of Employment and Labor Relations, emphasized the importance of timely data for informed decision-making and research in both the public and private sectors.
He stated that the government relies on employment and labour statistics, such as the AHIES, to advance its agenda of promoting decent work and ensuring job creation, social protection, and work rights for all citizens.
Furthermore, Mr Wireko-Brobby encouraged Ghanaians to reevaluate their perception of jobs and employment, stating, “Many times, if people are in certain jobs, they do not see them as jobs. So, if they are not in tie and coat, they always think they are unemployed.”
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