Unemployment in South Sudan

South Sudan uses an older unemployment definition that requires no work during the reference week, active job-seeking and availability to start work. Employment can already include one hour of work in a week when it produces pay, payment in kind, profit, family-business activity or subsistence output. Discouraged workers, seasonal workers and people with too little work are measured separately. The World Bank and ILO modeled an unemployment rate of 12.4% for 2023, while historical figures are not directly comparable: the 2008 Census reported 12.6% under a strict measure and 18.5% for young people, and a 2019 urban survey reported 2.1% under a narrow measure and about 6% when discouragement was included. The National Bureau of Statistics has been updating labour-market information, and no current national direct rate has been published in the available evidence. Low-productivity work, subsistence activity, casual work and seasonal work can conceal serious income insecurity behind a low open-unemployment rate. The Labour Act 2017, sections 35 and 36, provides for willing and able unemployed workers and people seeking a change of employment to register with the responsible employment exchange. The registration certificate is free, should be issued within a maximum of three days and remains valid for no more than one year. A jobseeker may register with only one employment exchange, must provide the requested particulars and evidence, and must give truthful information. Employers generally use registered jobseekers, advertise vacancies through the exchange with its permission and receive nominations from it. If the exchange does not nominate a suitable person or the relevant period expires, the employer may make its own qualified selection after 14 working days. The practical availability and coverage of employment exchanges across South Sudan have not been established nationally. The South Sudan Labour Market Information System, or SSLMIS, is intended as a government one-stop labour-market information platform. Its nationwide access, service range and registration results have not been verified. A Private Employment Agency, known as a PEA, requires a licence from the Office of the Labour Commissioner under the Labour Act, normally for no more than two years. Check the agency's licence and terms before sharing documents or paying money; jobseeker fees, the complete agency register and national coverage have not been verified. Unlicensed recruitment creates additional fraud and safety risks. South Sudan has no evidenced national unemployment insurance scheme or universal unemployment cash benefit with a defined application process, waiting period, amount, duration, job-search duty, suitability test, sanction system or appeal process. The Ministry of Labour and the South Sudan Social Insurance Fund have formal responsibilities covering areas such as registration, contributions, pensions and compensation, but an operating unemployment payment has not been established in the available evidence. The National Social Insurance Fund Act 2023 exists, but it does not establish a documented, universally available unemployment benefit in practice. Income support is mainly program-based and informal. The South Sudan Productive Safety Net for Socioeconomic Opportunities, known as SNSOP or Shabaka Meisha, combines cash transfers and complementary social measures through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare and implementing partners. Its Labour-Intensive Public Works and Direct Income Support components target poor or vulnerable households rather than unemployment status alone. Access usually depends on county-level targeting, community mobilisation and verification, beneficiary lists, biometric checks, payment processing and local appeals or grievance channels. No participation fee has been evidenced, but timing, payment arrangements and cash-out access depend on the project and county. In 2024 the programme was reported to cover 157,500 households in 20 counties; a later World Bank overview reported income support for 156,142 households, 78% of them women-headed, 1,266 jobs involving 24.4 million workdays and cash assistance for 92,495 households. Other assistance has narrower eligibility. UNICEF cash-plus support in Aweil East reached 1,626 pregnant or breastfeeding women and caregivers of children under two through two payments over six months. In Ruweng in 2025, a programme was reported to support 1,200 households with about USD 41 per month for one year. These programmes are not unemployment benefits and cannot be treated as a general entitlement for every person without work. Family and community support, casual work, subsistence farming or animal husbandry, seasonal work, small trading, own-account activity, savings and loan groups, and humanitarian cash assistance often provide the practical income bridge. Their legal protection, reliability and predictability vary considerably between urban and rural areas and between states and counties. Displaced people and refugees can face lower access to registration and programme participation. Employment loss can also be managed through the rules that apply before a job ends. For termination, the notice period is at least one month after one year of service, two weeks after six to less than twelve months and one week below six months. A fixed-term or task contract ends when its term or task is completed. A mass redundancy involving at least ten employees within three months requires notice to the Ministry of Labour at least two months in advance, and a registered trade union must receive notice at least 30 days in advance. After at least one year of continuous service, redundancy severance is calculated at two weeks' wages for each completed year of service. General severance after at least six months applies only in legally defined cases, and the calculation can be subject to negotiation. Losing a job does not create a continuing national replacement payment. Unpaid wages and other contractual claims can remain enforceable after termination. A worker may report unfair termination or another employment dispute to the Labour Commissioner or the relevant commission for conciliation, mediation and arbitration. Conciliation aims to resolve a report within 30 days; arbitration generally requires agreement by the parties and is intended to take place within 90 days. An unresolved matter may proceed to the Labour Court, where remedies can include reinstatement, re-engagement, lost wages or court-ordered compensation. Costs and timing depend on the case and the responsible office. Return to work may involve an employment exchange, SSLMIS, a licensed PEA, direct contact with employers, short-term public works, a safety-net programme, a savings group, small trade, agriculture or animal husbandry. Vocational training and business-development providers can support a transition, but no automatic training place, job placement or re-entry payment has been evidenced. The best option depends on location, security, documents, mobility, skills, household needs and whether formal or informal work is available. Registration, programme targeting and agency verification should be treated as separate processes rather than as one national unemployment system.