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96.8% of Namibia’s potential labour force have given up on jobs, 2023 report reveals

Around 96.8% of Namibians have stopped looking for work after repeated unsuccessful attempts.

This was revealed by the latest labour force survey on Wednesday.

Out of a total of 341 931 individuals classified as the potential labour force, most have given up looking for employment.

This is according to the 2023 Population and Housing Census Labour Force Report released by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) on Wednesday.

“The combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force indicator shows the extent of unmet need for employment for the unemployed and the potential labour force.

“It reflects the unemployment situation in Namibia, including discouraged jobseekers who have ceased searching for work after an unsuccessful period. Over half (54.8 %) of the Namibian working-age population is either unemployed or part of the potential labour force,” NSA statistician general Alex Shimuafeni said.

Meanwhile, the country’s employed population has declined by 178 937 people since 2018.

The number of employed individuals fell from 725 742 to 546 805, with men making up 55% of the workforce and women 45%.

While the number of unemployed people also declined slightly from 364 411 in 2018 to 320 442 in 2023, the overall unemployment rate rose to 36.9% – up from 33.4% five years ago.

Furthermore, youth unemployment remains particularly high at 44.4%.

“The results also indicate that the largest increases in unemployment were observed in the Kavango West (33% in 2018 to 52.8% in 2023), Omusati (24% in 2018 to 41.5% in 2023), and Ohangwena (33.3% in 2018 to 47.2% in 2023) regions, while decreases were only observed in the //Kharas, Hardap, Kunene, Omaheke and Otjozondjupa regions,” Shimuafeni said.

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