The unemployment rate in Ghana has risen to 14.7 percent in the first three quarters of 2023, according to the Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
This figure is a 1.1 percent rise from the 2022 figure of 14.6.
The number of unemployed youth aged between 15 and 35 rose from about 1.2 million to over 1.3 million during the same period with the rate among females consistently higher than males.
The report highlighted a progressive widening of the unemployment gap between urban and rural areas throughout the initial three quarters of 2023.
Notably, in the second and third quarters, urban unemployment rates were nearly twice as high as those in rural areas.
Examining regional variations, only four regions namely Eastern, Bono East, Oti, and Upper West reported unemployment rates below the national average across all quarters.
Conversely, Greater Accra and the Ashanti region consistently experienced unemployment rates surpassing the national average during this timeframe.
High unemployment in Ghana is attributed to a misalignment between education and the skills demanded by the labour market and the availability of jobs.
