Only 5% have permanent jobs
Apr 30, 2009
Less than 5% of Ugandan workers are permanently employed, according to the latest figures of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), and that percentage is going down.
By Barbara Among
Less than 5% of Ugandan workers are permanently employed, according to the latest figures of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), and that percentage is going down.
Whereas 4.8% of workers had permanent employment in 2003, this declined to 4.5% in 2006.
Almost 12% are in temporary employment, while the majority of Ugandan workers, or 83%, are self-employed, mainly in the agricultural sector.
The percentage of self-employed farmers increased in recent years, from 63% in 2003 to 70% in 2006.
“The large numbers of persons in the labour force in rural areas exert pressure on the natural resources which may lead to desertification, land fragmentation, deforestation and soil degradation,†the UBOS states in its 2009 Labour Market Conditions report.
With rapid population growth and reduced deaths of HIV/AIDS through the introduction of ARVs, the number of Uganda’s job seekers is increasing at a fast speed.
Uganda’s working age population stood at 13 million in 2006. It is expected to rise to 17 million in 2011 and above 21 million by 2017.
In terms of education levels, close to 77% of the labour force had either primary education or no formal education at all. “This explains the low productivity as the majority of the labour force does not have skills,†the report says.
Only 5.6% of Uganda’s labour force had higher education. A recent report by the Public Service Commission stated that Uganda’s labour market can only accommodate 50% of the university graduates.
Of the more than 500,000 Ugandans who enter the labour market each year, only about 113,000 are absorbed in formal employment and the rest have to join the informal sector, according to the Uganda Investment Authority.
UBOS attributes the high unemployment rate among graduates partly to the fact that some shun work in rural areas or decline jobs they consider inferior.
Broken down according to age, three-quarter of all Ugandan workers are below 40 years old. “Therefore, Uganda is characterised by a young, untrained and rural labour force,†concludes the UBOS report.
The country’s overall unemployment figure stands at 3.5% while unemployment among youth is 6.3%. Broken down by residence, unemployment appears particularly serious among urban youth; almost 23% of them have no formal jobs.
Uganda has also a problem of underemployment; 17% of workers, mainly in rural areas, work fewer hours than they would wish to.
Less than 5% of Ugandan workers are permanently employed, according to the latest figures of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), and that percentage is going down.
Whereas 4.8% of workers had permanent employment in 2003, this declined to 4.5% in 2006.
Almost 12% are in temporary employment, while the majority of Ugandan workers, or 83%, are self-employed, mainly in the agricultural sector.
The percentage of self-employed farmers increased in recent years, from 63% in 2003 to 70% in 2006.
“The large numbers of persons in the labour force in rural areas exert pressure on the natural resources which may lead to desertification, land fragmentation, deforestation and soil degradation,†the UBOS states in its 2009 Labour Market Conditions report.
With rapid population growth and reduced deaths of HIV/AIDS through the introduction of ARVs, the number of Uganda’s job seekers is increasing at a fast speed.
Uganda’s working age population stood at 13 million in 2006. It is expected to rise to 17 million in 2011 and above 21 million by 2017.
In terms of education levels, close to 77% of the labour force had either primary education or no formal education at all. “This explains the low productivity as the majority of the labour force does not have skills,†the report says.
Only 5.6% of Uganda’s labour force had higher education. A recent report by the Public Service Commission stated that Uganda’s labour market can only accommodate 50% of the university graduates.
Of the more than 500,000 Ugandans who enter the labour market each year, only about 113,000 are absorbed in formal employment and the rest have to join the informal sector, according to the Uganda Investment Authority.
UBOS attributes the high unemployment rate among graduates partly to the fact that some shun work in rural areas or decline jobs they consider inferior.
Broken down according to age, three-quarter of all Ugandan workers are below 40 years old. “Therefore, Uganda is characterised by a young, untrained and rural labour force,†concludes the UBOS report.
The country’s overall unemployment figure stands at 3.5% while unemployment among youth is 6.3%. Broken down by residence, unemployment appears particularly serious among urban youth; almost 23% of them have no formal jobs.
Uganda has also a problem of underemployment; 17% of workers, mainly in rural areas, work fewer hours than they would wish to.