WINDHOEK – The distribution of employment in Namibia by economic sector in 2017 was made up of 20.24 percent of the employees active in the agricultural sector, 19.56 percent in industry and 60.2 percent in the service sector.
According to the latest Namibia Labour Force Survey (LFS) conducted by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), the face value of the country’s unemployment reduced slightly by 0.6 percent, from 34 percent in 2016 to 33.4 percent in 2018. However, from a statistical significance point of view, there was no significant difference between the figure of 2016 and the one of 2018.
The LFS also presents changes in the employed population by industry between 2016 and 2018. Some sectors, like construction, mining, manufacturing and administration recorded a decline while agriculture, especially subsistence agriculture, wholesale and retail trade and accommodation recorded gains over this two-year period.
“Our analysis shows that there are varying degrees in salaries; while some earn high salaries, some are still earning very low salaries. The average for the country, however, is around N$7 935 per month. In general, the results show that men still earn higher salaries than women,” commented Statistician-General, Alex Shimuafeni.
The most recent LFS also measured employment in the informal sector. Employees were categorised as being in informal employment if their employer does not provide at least a pension scheme, medical aid or social security. In this regard, 57.7 percent of the employed population are working in the informal employment
The LFS, conducted between September and October 2018, further indicates that the youth unemployment rate (for 15 years to 34 years) for 2018 jumped to 46.1 percent from 43.4 percent recorded in 2016.
However, regarding the youth in the 19 to 34 years age range, the unemployment rate is 44.8 percent.
“While we have a significant increase in female employment, from 318 615 in 2016 to 364 234 in 2018 we only had a very slight increase in the male segment. In 2016, male employment figures slightly increased from 358 270 to 361 508 in 2018. While urban employment remained literally static between 2016 and 2018, the rural indicators show an increase from 261 707 to 310 154,” said Shimuafeni.
The LFS also provides unemployment figures per region and compares them with previous years. The results still indicate very high unemployment in the Kavango East and Kunene regions as well as the Omaheke and Zambezi regions.
The report also provides unemployment levels by level of education and it remains clear that the lower the education level, the higher the chances of unemployment.
For the first time, the NSA has also started tracking the unemployment rate among technical/vocational certificate and diploma holders. This unemployment rate stands at 33.3 percent.
The report also shows that a high proportion of youths (34.9 percent) are not in employment, education or training.
“All these indicators show that, as a nation, we still have a lot of work to do to reduce unemployment, especially among the youth population. I strongly believe that if we work together and continue to make use of available statistics to inform our decision making at all levels, we will be able to achieve better planning results,” said Shimuafeni.