The latest Labour Force Survey for 2025 paints a stark picture of The Gambia’s labour market, highlighting widespread low pay, insecure jobs, and entrenched inequalities across gender, geography, and disability status.
According to the Gambia Bureau of Statistics, informal employment dominates, accounting for 81 percent of all jobs.
Women and rural residents are disproportionately affected, with 86.3 percent of employed women and 86.7 percent of rural workers engaged in informal work. Agriculture, the country’s primary sector, exhibits near-universal informality at 96.9 percent, offering low-income, subsistence-level livelihoods rather than pathways to stable employment.
The survey also underscores significant gender disparities.
Female labour force participation stands at 40.9 percent compared to 53.8 percent for men, dropping to just 35.1 percent among young women.
Women remain concentrated in agriculture and low-wage service roles, with only 13.7 percent holding formal jobs versus 23.3 percent of men.
Representation in leadership positions has declined sharply, with women occupying 28.1 percent of managerial roles, down from 36.1 percent in 2022-23.
For many Gambians, work is physically demanding and poorly remunerated.
Average usual working hours reach 46.7 per week, but actual hours worked are lower at 39, reflecting underemployment and unstable work arrangements. Self-employment dominates, particularly among women, with 86 percent engaged in micro-enterprises or contributing family work.
Regional disparities are also pronounced.
Labour underutilization — encompassing unemployment, underemployment, and discouraged workers — peaks in Kuntaur (61 percent), Basse (51 percent), and Janjanbureh (46.3 percent), far above the national average of 34 percent. Kuntaur’s unemployment rate of 19.6 percent is more than double the national average of 8.3 percent. Urban areas such as Kanifing and Brikama fare better in quantity of jobs but still struggle with quality and access.
Youth face entrenched barriers, with 84.5 percent in informal employment. Female youth experience far higher underutilization than male peers (41.4 percent versus 24.4 percent). Persons with disabilities also remain excluded, with participation falling from 32.8 percent to 20.1 percent and NEET rates reaching 61.6 percent among disabled youth.
Analysts warn that without comprehensive reforms, including skills development, rural job creation, social protection, and pathways from informal to formal employment, The Gambia risks leaving large segments of its population behind, undermining the government’s goal of inclusive economic growth.
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