Rwanda’s Labour Market: Key Insights from the 2024 Q2 Labour Force Survey
The National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) published the results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the second quarter of 2024, shedding light on significant trends and developments in the country's labour market. This survey provides crucial data for understanding employment, unemployment, and labour force participation dynamics.
Labour Force Participation
As of May 2024, Rwanda's working-age population stood at approximately 8.3 million. Out of these, around 4.3 million were employed, 869 thousand were unemployed, and 3.1 million were outside the labour force. The overall labour force participation rate rose to 62.5%, up from 59.5% in May 2023. This increase underscores a steady rise in the number of individuals engaging in economic activities.
Interestingly, there remains a notable gender disparity in labour force participation. The participation rate for men was 70.3%, significantly higher than the 55.6% observed for women. Despite this gap, the rates for both genders have shown improvement over the past year.
Employment
The employment-to-population ratio (EPR) also experienced an uptick, increasing from 49.5% in May 2023 to 52.0% in May 2024. This increase was more pronounced among males (60.4%) compared to females (44.6%). Furthermore, adults had a higher EPR (55.8%) than youth aged 16-30 years (47.2%). The gender gap in employment remained relatively stable, highlighting persistent challenges in achieving gender parity in the labour market.
Sectoral Employment Distribution
A shift in sectoral employment distribution was observed. The agricultural sector, which has traditionally been the dominant employer, saw a decline in its share from 44% in May 2023 to 39.3% in May 2024. Conversely, the service sector's share of employment rose to 44% from 39.7% over the same period, indicating a gradual transformation of the Rwandan economy towards more service-oriented activities. The industry sector's employment share remained relatively stable.
Unemployment and Labour Underutilization
The overall unemployment rate in May 2024 was 16.8%, showing little change from the previous year. This rate was higher among females (19.8%) compared to males (14.1%) and more pronounced among the youth (20.5%) than adults (14.1%). Rural areas experienced a higher unemployment rate (17.3%) than urban areas (15.7%).
Labour underutilization, which includes unemployment, time-related underemployment, and potential labour force, was estimated at 53.9%. This figure was significantly higher for females (61.1%) compared to males (46.5%), and for youth (59.5%) compared to adults (53.8%).
Tuyisenge Methode
Economic Statistics Specialist
NISR