Zimbabwe faces a significant employment challenge, with only 46.3% of its working-age population currently in active employment, according to the latest figures from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat). The 2023 fourth quarter labour force survey paints a grim picture of the job market, with Bulawayo province slightly outperforming the national average with an employment-to-population ratio of 51.5%, while Harare boasts a ratio of 50.5%.
The survey, aiming to shed light on various aspects of employment, including the informal economy and income levels, indicates a stark disparity between urban and rural employment ratios. Urban areas have a slightly better employment rate at 50.7%, in contrast to rural areas’ 28.2%. This discrepancy is even more pronounced among females in rural settings, where the employment-to-population ratio plummets to 19.5%, compared to 38.1% for males.
A significant portion of the employed population, 43.7%, is absorbed by the informal sector (excluding agriculture), highlighting the economy’s struggle to generate formal job opportunities. Furthermore, about 22.7% of employed individuals earn incomes ranging from ZW$40,000 to ZW$800,000, underscoring the income disparity within the employed demographic.
Experts express concern over these figures, pointing to the broader economic implications. Adolphus Chinomwe, Senior Programme Officer at the International Labour Organisation Country Office for Zimbabwe and Namibia, emphasized the economy’s failure to create sufficient formal jobs, leading many youths to engage in harmful coping mechanisms. Economist Prosper Chitambara associates the high levels of informal employment with poverty, low income, and productivity, urging the establishment of incentives for businesses to formalize and address investment barriers.
Vince Musewe, another economist, observed the shrinking formal sector, advocating for policies that facilitate self-employment and tax incentives, rather than a blanket formalization of the economy. The sentiment is echoed by Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions chairperson, David Dzatsunga, who labeled the statistics as alarming, particularly the informal sector’s minimal tax contributions, which place a disproportionate tax burden on the formally employed minority.
These findings call for a concerted effort to reform Zimbabwe’s economic policies to stimulate job creation, particularly in the formal sector, and to address the ease of doing business to encourage investment and formalization. The country’s future growth and social stability hinge on addressing these critical employment and economic challenges.
Source: Newsday
