Employment-to-population ratio highest in Bunyoro — UBOS report

 ________________

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) has released the 2025 labour market survey report, showing 57.6 percent of persons aged 14-64 were in the working age population. Of these, 58.8 percent were males.

"This shows almost the same in comparison with the national working age population," Elizabeth Nyarantwari, a senior statistician at UBOS, said on Thursday (April 16) while presenting the survey findings at the Statistics House in Kampala.

The findings also indicated that the employment-to-population ratio (15 years and above) was highest in the Bunyoro sub-region and lowest in the Bukedi sub-region. 

It was also discovered that most people were employed in the services sector, with a 50.5 percent national average. This sector employed more females at 56.4 percent and males at 46.3 percent.

It was followed by the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, which employed 37.1 percent of the population, with 36.7 percent males and 37.4 percent females.

The industry sector employed 12.4 percent of the population, with 6.9 percent males and 16.3 percent females.

Karamoja sub-region had the highest number of people (15 years and above) in the informal sector at 96.8 percent, followed by Kigezi (93.7 percent), Teso (93.0 percent) and Bunyoro (92.9 percent). 

Kampala stood lowest in informal employment at 73.5 percent.

"We have noted as government that employment and unemployment are key problems in this country. And as UBOS, we shall be publishing the statistics on unemployment on a frequent basis and preferably every quarter," Chris Mukiza, the UBOS executive director, said at the launch of the report.

The report was officially launched by the finance state minister in charge of planning, Amos Lugoloobi.