Zambia claims unemployment rate falls to 9.9%, as Western Province worst hit at 20.6%

Youth unemployment among people aged 15 to 24 stood at 23.9 percent, more than twice the national rate, while unemployment among the nationally defined youth population aged 19 to 35 was 14.2 percent.

“The findings also show the importance of ensuring that economic growth translates into productive employment and better livelihoods, particularly for young people, women and persons with disabilities,” Mudenda said.

The survey estimates that about 2.09 million young people aged 15 to 24 were not in employment, education or training, while 3.02 million people were in informal employment, representing 63.4 percent of total employment.

“With millions of young people not engaged in employment, education or training, there’s need to enhance the transition from education and vocational training into employment,” she said.

Mudenda said the dominance of informal employment underscored the need to promote formal jobs to improve income security, access to social security and productivity.

Ministry of Labour and Social Security Permanent Secretary, Zechariah Luhanga, said the labour market information would help the Government align investment, skills development and workforce preparation with the needs of the economy.

“For the Grow Zambia Agenda, we must assess how investment and production translate into productive employment and better livelihoods. These reports should help us identify sectors and groups requiring attention, and provide benchmarks for monitoring progress,” Luhanga said.

He said workforce preparation needed to begin alongside investment planning because skills development takes time and must respond to the competencies employers require.

Luhanga added that the findings should inform the Critical Skills List, apprenticeships and other work-based learning programmes through collaboration with the Ministry of Technology and Science, TEVETA, the Skills Advisory Committee and sector skills bodies.

Average monthly earnings for paid workers stood at K7,025 in 2025, with male workers earning K7,180 compared with K6,685 for females.

Western Province recorded the highest unemployment rate at 20.6 percent, while Lusaka had the lowest at 5.4 percent.

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