Labor market in Guyana

The national labor force survey (Labour Force Survey (GLFS)) recorded 758,567 people of working age in the fourth quarter of 2025. Of these, 449,183 were in the labor force, 421,334 were employed, and the employment-to-population ratio was 55.5 percent. The unemployment rate of 6.2 percent is used here only as an additional indicator of the relationship between labor supply and demand. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2024, the working-age population increased by 57,420, the labor force by 53,166, and employment by 52,064; the labor-force participation rate rose by 2.7 percentage points. Time-related underemployment affected 2.9 percent, and the additional potential labor force accounted for 4.8 percent of the working-age population. Men made up 60.5 percent of the labor force and women 39.5 percent. The labor-force participation rate was 71.8 percent for men and 46.7 percent for women; the employment-to-population ratio was 68.6 percent and 42.6 percent, respectively. Women held 46.0 percent of leadership positions but had a higher unemployment rate and lower labor-force participation. Rural and urban areas also differed: 72.9 percent of the labor force and 72.6 percent of employed people lived in rural areas, where the unemployment rate was 6.6 percent compared with 5.1 percent in urban areas. Usual weekly working time was 46.7 hours in rural areas and 50.1 hours in urban areas. A current, reliable breakdown by all ten regions was not available in this bulletin; hinterland and Amerindian communities face additional access and data risks. By economic sector, the largest employment shares in the fourth quarter of 2025 were in wholesale and retail trade at 14.7 percent, construction at 12.5 percent, public administration and defense at 10.0 percent, agriculture, forestry, and fishing at 9.8 percent, and manufacturing at 8.7 percent. Transportation and storage accounted for 7.4 percent, education for 7.1 percent, mining and quarrying for 6.1 percent, human health and social work for 4.3 percent, financial and insurance activities for 1.5 percent, and information and communication technology for 1.2 percent. The statistics use the ISIC Rev. 4 classification of economic activities. The expansion of the oil and gas economy affects other areas mainly through mining, construction, public investment, technical services, and local supply chains; the GLFS does not report a separate oil share. 60.4 percent of employed people worked in the private sector, 25.5 percent in the public sector, and 14.1 percent in nonprofit institutions. In terms of status in employment, 67.3 percent were employees, 12.0 percent employers, 19.2 percent self-employed, and 1.4 percent contributing family workers. Common occupational groups were service and sales workers at 21.9 percent, elementary occupations at 17.0 percent, craft and related trades at 15.2 percent, and plant and machine operators at 11.0 percent. Professionals accounted for 9.5 percent and technicians for 7.3 percent. Depending on the statistical definition, 43.2 or 47.3 percent worked in informal units. The lower figure follows the GLFS's basic criterion, while the higher figure uses a stricter accounts and registration perspective. Men were more often engaged in informal work than women, as were rural workers compared with urban workers. This distinction affects access to social protection, workplace safety, productivity, and formal financing. The technical and vocational education and training council (Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET)) coordinates vocational and technical education, standards, recognition, certification, and quality assurance. It uses competency-based, modular training and supports apprenticeships and competency-based certification levels (CVQ Level 1 and 2). The industrial training board (Board of Industrial Training (BIT)) offers, among other things, free programs and certifications in areas such as welding and metal fabrication, heavy construction equipment, electrical installation, information technology, air conditioning and refrigeration, commercial food preparation, and cosmetology. The National TVET Plan 2025–2035 also directs training toward oil and gas, climate-resilient agriculture, hospitality, and digital technology. Access and provision vary by region; a uniform qualification threshold for all economic sectors has not been established. In the fourth quarter of 2025, average monthly labor-related income was 166,975 GYD for employees and 168,410 GYD for self-employed people. The average for employees was 297,209 GYD in mining, 201,112 GYD in electricity and gas supply, 197,640 GYD in transportation and storage, 186,161 GYD in professional, scientific, and technical services, 180,234 GYD in financial and insurance activities, 167,476 GYD in construction, 146,774 GYD in wholesale and retail trade, 146,961 GYD in agriculture, forestry, and fishing, and 97,896 GYD for private households as employers. These are averages and are not a promise of an individual offer. They exclude employer contributions to social insurance or retirement provision and benefits on termination of employment. Under the National Minimum Wage Order 2022 347 GYD per hour is the statutory national minimum wage from July 1, 2022; the daily amount is 2,776 GYD, the weekly amount is 13,880 GYD, and the monthly amount is 60,147 GYD; higher wages already in place remain protected. The public recruitment and manpower agency (Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency (CRMA)) of the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning operates a free public job bank. It registers jobseekers, accepts vacancy reports, provides career counseling, skills and qualification matching, job interviews, placement, job-readiness courses, and job fairs. Private employment agencies are regulated. The Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning is also responsible for labor-market policy, collective bargaining, labor relations, dispute settlement, conciliation, mediation, trade-union recognition, arbitration tribunals, and regulation of recruitment agencies. Employment rights and duties arise, among other sources, from the Labour Act Cap. 98:01, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, OSH Act Cap. 99:10, the Trade Union Recognition Act Cap. 98:07, the Prevention of Discrimination Act Cap. 99:08, the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act Cap. 96:01, and the minimum-wage regulations. Employers bear primary responsibility for safe working conditions; workers have a right to safe work and must follow safety rules. Occupational safety and health requirements cover formal and informal work. A general, directly comparable unemployment benefit cannot be derived from the available data. Guyana has an established but institutionally distributed framework for foreign workers. For an Employment Visa or work permit, the procedure typically includes an employer application, business registration, tax and national insurance scheme (National Insurance Scheme) records, a passport, a police clearance certificate, medical documents, proof of qualifications, and a signed contract. For a visa on arrival, the published checklist additionally requires a job advertisement published on three consecutive Mondays; processing takes approximately one month, and the fee is 28,700 GYD or 140 USD. The Ministry of Home Affairs handles these procedures; since 2025, a digital platform for Immigration Support Services has been available for this purpose. The Recruiting of Workers Act Cap. 98:06 regulates the licensing of recruiters, medical examinations, and protection, travel, and return obligations. The local-content law of 2021 gives Guyanese citizens and companies priority in the petroleum value chain; the local-content register (Local Content Register) is one mechanism used for this purpose. No central office or unified overall labor-market portal has been established in Guyana. In addition to the CRMA, the Labour Ministry, and CTVET, the Bureau of Statistics, BIT, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Local Content Secretariat perform different functions. Strong growth in the oil economy and public investment is increasing demand in construction, mining, transportation, technical services, and manufacturing. According to the World Bank, gross domestic product grew by 15.4 percent in 2025 and non-oil gross domestic product by 14.3 percent. Medium-term risks include overheating, dependence on oil prices, possible displacement of other economic sectors, skills gaps, and unevenly distributed gains in rural areas. Sustained entry into employment therefore also depends on non-oil sectors and accessible vocational training.