Dear Editor,
I have taken note of the government’s claim that it has “created 163,000 jobs” in The Gambia since 2023. However, a careful reading of the very GBoS Labour Market Report the government relies on exposes this claim as misleading, exaggerated, and detached from the harsh economic realities facing Gambians.
The report itself clearly states that the increase of 163,660 employed persons reflects “increased labour absorption rather than a direct measure of jobs created.” These are not the same thing.
Labour absorption simply means more people were forced to engage in some form of economic activity in order to survive in a difficult economy. It does not mean the government created 163,000 stable, wage-paying jobs.
For example, a university graduate who cannot find formal employment but resorts to giving private tutoring lessons to middle school students in order to survive is considered “employed”” Likewise, a graduate who ends up selling food during trade fairs or operating a small school lunch business due to lack of opportunities is also classified as self-employed.
The government is deliberately confusing survival driven economic activity with genuine job creation.
Even more alarming is the quality of employment reflected in the report. According to the findings, 85.8% of employed Gambians are trapped in the informal sector, exactly as highlighted above. This means fewer than one in every seven workers has access to formal employment with job security, decent wages, and basic worker protections.
The report further reveals that the so-called employment growth was overwhelmingly driven by self-employment. Self-employment increased from 52.9% to 64.3% within three years. In simple terms, Gambians are increasingly being pushed into petty trading, street vending, informal transportation, subsistence businesses, and other unstable survival activities because formal employment opportunities are simply unavailable.
The government cannot honestly celebrate an economy where citizens are forced into risky informal work simply to feed their families, with no health insurance, no workplace protections, no guaranteed wages, no job security, and no dignity in the work they do.
The income statistics are even more disturbing. Despite the increase in employment figures, half of Gambian workers earn D3,000 or less per month. Self-employed workers earn an average monthly income of only D4,609, less than half of what formal sector employees earn.
This is not economic transformation. This is survival under hardship, or as we say in The Gambia, “rabba rabba”. A majority of the population has now become “managers,” with people merely managing to get through each day, surviving from hand to mouth in an economy that offers little stability or opportunity.
The report also exposes severe underemployment and wasted economic potential. Labour underutilisation remains extremely high at 23.6%, while workers who require approximately 44 hours of work weekly average only 36.6 hours. This means thousands of Gambians remain underworked, underpaid, and economically vulnerable despite being counted as “employed.”
Most concerning is the condition of Gambian youths. The report confirms that 33.7% of young people between the ages of 15 and 35 are NEET, as in, not in education, employment, or training. No responsible government can celebrate employment figures while over a third of its youth population remains disconnected from both education and meaningful economic opportunities.
I therefore reject the government’s attempt to misrepresent this report for political propaganda. The facts contained in the report point not to an economy producing quality jobs, but to a distressed survival economy dominated by informality, low incomes, underemployment, and youth exclusion.
The Gambian people deserve honesty, not statistical manipulation.
Real job creation means creating sustainable, productive, and dignified employment opportunities capable of lifting families out of poverty and restoring hope to our young people. Unfortunately, the Government’s own report demonstrates that this objective remains far from reality.
We at the UDP will continue to advocate for policies that promote industrial growth, private sector expansion, youth empowerment, skills development, agricultural productivity, and genuine economic opportunities for all Gambians.
Saikou Camara
UDP Administrative Secretary for Media and Communications
