We’ve created 2.1 million jobs since 2017 – Bawumia

Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has insisted that despite the current economic challenges, the government has created over 2 million jobs in the last seven years.

Dr. Bawumia says statistics available indicate that, the number remains the highest since Ghana’s independence.

Speaking at the start of a cash disbursement for beneficiaries of the YOUSTART programme in Accra, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia said the government will do more to create jobs for the country’s youth.

“What is remarkable is that, notwithstanding the global economic challenges, major global economic disruptions that have taken place with regard to COVID-19 that many of you have talked about and its implications on businesses as well as the Russia-Ukraine war, notwithstanding these global challenges, our government over the last seven years has created 2.1 million jobs. This is the highest number of jobs created by any government since the Fourth Republic,” he added.

Meanwhile, a report by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) says one in every four, representing 24.2% of young persons between 15 and 24 years, was not engaged in education, employment, or training during the third quarter of 2022.

The figure represents 1.5 million persons in the age group.

This was made known in a statement from the Service from the Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2022 Third Quarter Labour Statistics Report.

“More than half of the youth are in Accra (312,394), Ashanti (300,161), Eastern (131,341), and Central (129,182) regions. In 13 out of the 16 regions, more than 20 per cent of young persons, 15 to 24 years were not in education, employment, or training. Eastern Region (30.0%) has the highest proportion of youth, with a figure about twice that of Bono Region (14.5%) which has the lowest proportion,” GSS noted in the report.