Labour force participation increased by 13 percentage points over five years, rising from 50.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2021, according to the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR). The Labour Force Survey shows that 5.63 million people were in the labour force in the third quarter of 2026, out of a working-age population of 8.81 million people aged 16 and above. ALSO READ: Transport, construction boost jobs as govt targets decent work Labour force participation measures the share of the working-age population that is either employed or unemployed but actively seeking and available for work. However, participation declined from 65.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2025 to 63.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2026. The employment-to-population ratio, which measures the share of the working-age population that is employed, also fell from 57 per cent to 54 per cent over the same period. ALSO READ: Labour force: Women participation increases by 7.4% Despite the latest decline, it remained above the 41 per cent recorded in the third quarter of 2021. Unemployment rises The unemployment rate increased to 15.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2026, from 13.4 per cent in the same quarter of 2025, according to the report. The survey counted 877,716 unemployed people. NISR defines unemployed people as those who are not employed but are seeking and available for work for pay or profit. ALSO READ: Unemployment rate drops to 13.4% in quarter two Despite the latest increase, the unemployment rate remained below the 19.4 per cent recorded in the third quarter of 2021. Women continued to face a higher unemployment rate than men. The rate among women stood at 18.3 per cent, compared with 13.3 per cent among men. Young people aged 16 to 30 had an unemployment rate of 18.8 per cent, while the rate among adults aged 31 and above was 13.1 per cent. Services account for largest share of jobs The services sector accounted for 45.6 per cent of employment in the third quarter of 2026, up from 34.8 per cent in the same quarter of 2021. Agriculture's share of employment declined from 44.6 per cent to 34.2 per cent over the same period, while industry's share edged down from 20.6 per cent to 20.2 per cent. The figures show a shift in the distribution of employment towards services over the five-year period, while agriculture's share declined. However, agriculture remained a major source of employment, accounting for more than a third of employed people in the third quarter. Labour underutilisation remains high The composite labour underutilisation rate stood at 61.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2026, up from 56.7 per cent in the same quarter of 2025 and compared with 60 per cent in the third quarter of 2021. The measure includes unemployed people, those working fewer hours than they would like and are available to work more, and people in the potential labour force who are not fully captured by the conventional unemployment measure. The report counted 4.59 million people affected by labour underutilisation. The rate was higher among women, at 68.6 per cent, than men, at 54.7 per cent. It also stood at 68.4 per cent in rural areas, compared with 47.7 per cent in urban areas.
