The 2019 Somali Labour Force Survey recorded 259,652 unemployed people among a working-age population of 3,751,264. The labour-force participation rate was 32.4%, the unemployment rate was 21.4%, and the employment-to-population ratio was 25.5%. Unemployment was 27.4% for women and 18.4% for men, and 37.4% among people aged 15 to 24. The survey also recorded 67.6% of the working-age population outside the labour force, a potential labour force of about 250,000 people, and broader underutilisation measures of 34.8% and 38.0%. The NEET rate was 44.2% for young people who were not in employment, education or training. These figures cover accessible areas and 18 regional strata but exclude the nomadic population and areas that were insecure or inaccessible during fieldwork from March to December 2019. Informal work, own-account work, family work, subsistence activity and people who stopped looking for work can make open unemployment understate the need for income and employment support. The unemployment rate should therefore be read together with labour-force participation and broader underutilisation measures. The National Employment Service Center, or NESC, is a Federal Government of Somalia employment agency under the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA). A jobseeker can create an account through jobs.gov.so and use job matching, job counselling, CV and interview coaching, skills assessment, labour-market information, life-skills support, job-readiness training, referrals to technical and vocational education, job fairs, work trials, internships and apprenticeships. These services can lead toward wage employment, self-employment or an apprenticeship, but NESC does not guarantee an interview, placement or income. Registration requires accurate current information and identity and qualification details. The published material sets access at age 18 or the applicable age of legal majority. A registration fee and a fixed processing time have not been published. Jobseekers must check job offers and qualification requirements themselves, and false information is prohibited. No published NESC rule establishes a general reporting duty, waiting period, job-search record or sanction for receiving unemployment support because NESC is an employment service rather than a cash-benefit scheme. Somalia has no evidenced direct equivalent of a contributory unemployment insurance system or general unemployment allowance. Income support is fragmented. Baxnaano is a government social-safety-net platform under MoLSA that provides targeted household cash transfers based on poverty, vulnerability, geography or shocks, not simply on unemployment. Programme descriptions for 2025 state a regular payment of USD 20 per household per month and shock-window payments of up to USD 60 per month, subject to programme selection and duration. These amounts and access conditions do not create a general unemployment entitlement. A Baxnaano jobs pilot targeted people aged 18 to 35 who had no work, had experienced long-term unemployment or faced vulnerable work, with education up to Form 4. The pilot reached more than 1,000 participants and combined soft skills, technical skills, work-based learning, business support, interest-free credit or grants, business development services and mentoring. It was a programme pilot, not a universal benefit. Access to Baxnaano and related employment programmes depends on the relevant geographic, community and programme criteria, so availability should be checked locally. NESC is a Federal Government institution coordinated with Federal Member States; a single interoperable unemployment register or benefit entitlement covering all Federal Member States and Somaliland has not been evidenced.
Unemployment in Somalia
Unemployment in Somalia is measured as having no work in the previous week while being ready to work; the 2019 labour-force survey used a relaxed definition that did not require job-search activity. Somalia has no evidenced nationwide unemployment insurance or unemployment benefit, while the National Employment Service Center (NESC) offers job matching and employability support. The latest cited national labour-force figures are from 2019 and exclude nomadic people and insecure or inaccessible areas, so they do not represent a current complete country estimate.
Tip
Treat unemployment in Somalia primarily as a route back to work, not as an automatic claim for replacement income. Start with NESC if you need job matching, counselling, skills assessment or a route into wage employment, self-employment or an apprenticeship, and verify local availability. Check Baxnaano only if your household may meet its programme criteria, and do not plan expenses around a payment until selection is confirmed.