The services sector had the majority of the employed population in 2024, according to the Labour Force Survey 2024 by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR). The survey findings published on Saturday, March 29, show that the percentage of the employed population in the services sector increased to 42.9 per cent from 39.8 per cent recorded in 2023. ALSO READ: Rwanda sees drop in unemployment rates In 2024, the working-age population (those aged 16 and above) was approximately 8.3 million, of whom around 4.4 million were employed, while some 780,000 were unemployed. 3.1 million people were out of the labour force. ALSO READ: Rwanda records over 21,000 hotel rooms The level of employment in the agricultural sector declined to 39.9 per cent in 2024, down from 43.4 per cent in 2023. ALSO READ: What declining number of Rwandans in agriculture means Meanwhile, the share of employment in the industrial sector rose to 17.2 per cent in 2024, an increase from 16.7 per cent in 2023. Females were more likely to be engaged in market-oriented agriculture (54.5per cent) in 2024 than to males,” reads part of the survey report. In contrast, the proportion of males employed in the industrial sector and the services sector was higher than that of females over time. Males represented 74.5 per cent of all those employed in the industrial sector and 55 per cent in the services sector. The majority of employees (68.8 per cent) had short-term or casual contracts, reflecting a decrease of 3.3 percentage points compared to 2023. This group is followed by employees with permanent contracts, who accounted for 25.8 per cent, representing an increase of 1.7 percentage points compared to 2023. Employees with fixed-term contracts in 2024 accounted for 5.4 per cent, increase of 1.5 percentage points compared to the previous year. The results reveal no significant difference between males and females in terms of contract duration. Informal sector accounts for 82% of employment The results of the survey show that in 2024, there were 3.6 million employed persons in the informal sector, corresponding to 82.3 per cent of total employment. The employed people in the informal sector were mostly male 54.7 per cent. Employment in the informal sector was mostly in market-oriented agriculture (48 per cent), which decreased from 51.7 reported in 2023. This was followed by wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (15.6 per cent), which increased from 14.1 per cent in 2023. The construction sector accounted for 11 per cent and remained constant compared to 2023. Transport and storage services represented 7.7 per cent, increasing from 6.7% in 2023, while manufacturing remained unchanged at 5.4 per cent. Unemployment rate In 2024, the unemployment rate stood at 14.9 per cent, indicating that for roughly every seven persons in the labour force, there was one person unemployed. This represents a decrease of 2.3 percentage points compared to 2023. The estimated unemployment rate in 2024 remained relatively stable compared to the pre-COVID-19 estimate in 2019 and 2018 when the NISR reported 15 per cent unemployment rate. In 2024, the unemployment rate was higher among females (17.6 per cent) than males (12.6 per cent) and more prevalent among youth (18.5 per cent) than adults (12.3 per cent). The survey indicates that the unemployment rate was slightly higher in rural areas (15.2 per cent) compared to urban areas (14.3 per cent). ALSO READ: The fight against unemployment in Africa The unemployment rate gender gap was 5 percentage points in 2024, slightly declining by 0.8 percentage points compared to 2023. The sum of the employed and unemployed population makes the population in the labour force 5.2 million persons. The proportion of the working-age population participating in the labour force has steadily increased since 2022. In 2024, it was estimated to be 62.9 per cent, which is 3.6 percentage-point higher than to the estimated value in 2023.
