Unemployment in Uganda

The Labour Market Survey 2025 recorded unemployment at 12.2% for people aged 15 and above. The rate was 13.9% for women and 10.8% for men, 12.8% in urban areas and 11.8% in rural areas. Among people aged 15 to 24, unemployment reached 17.9%, including 21.0% for young women and 15.2% for young men. The 2024 Census reported 12.3% under its international standard, so the two figures should not be compared without considering their different methods and age coverage. Unemployment alone does not show the full employment situation. In the Labour Market Survey, 42.6% of people aged 15 to 24 and 50.9% of people aged 18 to 30 were not in employment, education or training. Labour underutilisation was 41.6%, while the combined measure of unemployment and potential labour force reached 36.0%, including 43.2% for women and 28.8% for men. Among people outside the active search for work, discouragement accounted for 46.1%, family or household responsibilities for 26.6%, pregnancy for 2.2% and illness, injury or disability for 3.2%. These measures show why informal work, insufficient hours and non-participation also matter. Uganda's functional public employment service is provided through the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, including its Department of Employment Services and Commissioner for Employment Services. District Labour Officers handle local labour matters. ESMIS is a national digital system for Ugandan citizens seeking work. Registration is free and requires a National Identification Number, name, email address, telephone number and verification. A registered job seeker can upload a CV, search and apply for vacancies, receive invitations and track application status. Employment counselling, career guidance and job matching are free, available virtually or physically, and registration is not compulsory or a guarantee of a job. Internet access, a NIN, an email address and a working telephone can nevertheless affect access. After a job ends, keep the termination or end-of-contract letter and check final wages, unused leave and any possible severance allowance. Under the current Employment Act information, written notice is at least two weeks after more than six months but less than one year of service, one month after more than one but less than five years, two months after five but less than ten years and three months after ten years or more. During the notice period, the worker receives at least half a day per week to look for work. Severance allowance can apply after at least six months of continuous service in cases such as unfair dismissal, death, physical incapacity, redundancy or wage non-payment followed by termination; the current calculation is one month's salary for each year worked. A dispute about unlawful termination generally requires at least 13 weeks of continuous employment and a complaint to a Labour Officer within three months, while a complaint about summary dismissal has a six-month period. Probationary employment is excluded from the stated unlawful-termination complaint rule. Labour Officers may investigate, mediate, conciliate, arbitrate or adjudicate. NSSF payments are not general unemployment benefits. The NSSF Withdrawal Benefit requires age 50 or above and at least one year outside employment, with a passport photograph, identity document, bank details and a disengagement letter. The NSSF age benefit starts at 55, while midterm benefits require age 45 and at least ten years of contributions. NSSF processing is stated to target six days when the required evidence is complete. Re-entry routes include ESMIS matching and counselling, licensed private recruitment agencies regulated through MGLSD, and selected programmes. NAGV and A-MIS support unemployed or underemployed young people aged 18 to 35 through graduate volunteering, apprenticeships and skills upgrading with coaching and work-readiness support. Access depends on published calls rather than a permanent entitlement; MGLSD reported 520 apprentices with a 73.1% transition to employment and 242 graduate volunteers with about 75% in formal employment during or after a one-year placement. The Youth Livelihood Programme supports unemployed or poor young people aged 18 to 30 through skills development, livelihood and institutional support, often using group or revolving-fund arrangements for self-employment. UWEP supports women aged 18 to 65, including unemployed women, through finance, skills, enterprise growth and marketing. YLP and UWEP are livelihood pathways, not unemployment insurance. Complaints to Labour or MGLSD services are free, and the service charter states a seven-day complaint-handling target.