by Justice Lee Adoboe
Ghana’s 2023 National Human Development Report (NHDR), launched on Thursday, revealed that the country’s economic growth over the past 15 years has been jobless.
The report said that although the West African country experienced high economic growth, good governance, peace, and security, as well as improved public service delivery over the past 15 years, these developments did not yield any meaningful jobs or a significant reduction in poverty.
The report, “The Future Value of Work in Ghana: Pathways to Sustainable Jobs,” co-authored by the United Nations Development Program, the Ghana Statistical Service, and the National Development Planning Commission, said most of the labor force drifted toward the informal sector due to a lack of formal sector opportunities.
The paradox of a high economic growth rate and slow progress towards reducing poverty and inequality suggests that economic growth over the years was unable to create opportunities for people to earn income, which would eventually change their poverty status, said the report.
It added, “This paradox was because the growth in the economy occurred primarily in sectors that are less labor-intensive, such as natural resource extraction and services, mainly financial and ICT services, which are technology-driven.
“Due to the relatively high level of unemployment, people, especially the youth, have drifted into the informal sector, which accounts for about 75 percent of the workforce,” said the NHDR.
It added that youth unemployment remains alarmingly high, with 65 percent of young people aged 15 to 24 experiencing joblessness, underscoring a pressing challenge for the nation’s future development.
Data provided by the report indicated that Ghana’s employment rate declined from 68.8 percent in 2006 to 65 percent in 2017, dropped further to 50 percent in 2021, and increased to 58 percent in 2022.”
The report urged the government to build consensus with the private sector, civil society, and individuals alike to find ways of creating sustainable jobs for the youth. Enditem