In 2025 the working age population (16 years and above) was approximately 8.5 million of whom around 4.8 million were employed, 676 thousand were unemployed, and 3.1 million were out of labour force.
The sum of the employed and unemployed population makes the population in the labour force 5.4 million persons.
Generally, the labour force participation rate has consistently been higher among male than female population. The gender gap in labour force participation rate stood approximately 14.3 percentage points in 2025 and it was decreased by 1.2 percentage points compared to the situation in 2024.
Employment
The employment-to-population ratio (EPR) increased to 55.9 % in 2025 from 53.5 % in 2024. EPR increased for both males and females, by 1.4 and 3.1 percentage points respectively. In 2025, the employment-to-population ratio was higher among males (63.6 %) compared to females (49 %).
The distribution of employed population by aggregated broad branches of economic activity revealed that the services sector employed the majority of the population in LFS 2025. The level of employment in the agricultural and industry sectors remained almost stable, while the share of employment in service sector increased to 44.4 % in 2025, from 42.9 % in 2024.
Unemployment
In 2025, the unemployment rate stood at 12.4 % indicating that roughly for every 8 persons in the labour force, there was one person unemployed. This represents a decrease of 2.5 percentage points compared to 2024.
In 2025, the unemployment rate was higher among females (14.2 %) than males (10.8 %) and it was more prevalent among youth (14.7 %) than adults (10.8 %). Additionally, the unemployment rate was similar in both rural and urban areas at (approximately 12%).
The gender gap in unemployment rate stood at 3.3 percentage points in 2025, and it declined by 1.7 percentage points compared to 2024.
Labour underutilization
The unemployment rate is not the only component of the unmet needs for employment. They are other components including time-related underemployment and potential labour force.
In 2025, the labour underutilization rate stood at 56 % . This rate was higher among females (63.1 %) than males (48.5 %) and higher among youth (56.7 %) than adults (55.5 %). A comparison of 2025 and 2024 results shows that labour underutilization rate increased by 1.8 percentage points.