Labor market in Yemen

Yemen does not currently have one unified labor market in practice. The internationally recognized government controls areas including Aden, Hadramaut, Marib, Shabwah, Abyan, Lahj, Taiz and Al Maharah, while Houthi authorities control parts of the Sana'a and Red Sea regions. The two areas use different institutions, rules, currencies, payment systems and labor-market data. Access to a job, the value of earnings and the responsible office can therefore depend on the area of residence and the area where the work takes place. The last comprehensive household Labor Force Survey was conducted in 2013–2014. It recorded a labor-force participation rate of 36.3% and unemployment of 13.5%; unemployment was 24.5% among people aged 15–24 and 26.1% among women. About 73.2% of workers were in the informal sector. The survey recorded the educational background of the labor force as approximately 68.6% with primary education, 23.0% with secondary education and 7.9% with tertiary education. Current national figures are limited, and many recent indicators from the International Labour Organization and World Bank are modelled estimates rather than a new nationwide household survey. Daily or occasional work was the most frequently reported household income source in the World Bank's August 2025 phone survey, accounting for about 37–38% of household income sources. Public employment represented about 18% in areas controlled by the internationally recognized government and about 4% in Houthi-controlled areas. Agricultural work accounted for about one-fifth of household income sources in Houthi-controlled areas and less than 5% in the surveyed areas controlled by the internationally recognized government. About 19% of households reported relying on child labor or other risky work. These figures describe sharply different local conditions rather than a single national pattern. The 2013–2014 survey placed services at 55.6%, trade at 22.7%, agriculture at 29.2%, industry at 14.5% and public administration at 12.7%. These categories overlap and must not be added together. Trade and agriculture remain central to the non-oil economy, but conflict, import disruptions, shortages of production inputs, supply interruptions and duplicate taxation have reduced predictability. Oil exports from areas controlled by the internationally recognized government were largely blocked after October 2022, and oil-related foreign-exchange income has not resumed at its former level since the end of 2022. Fisheries contribute about 3% of gross domestic product and about 2% of employment, especially in coastal areas such as Hadramaut, Aden, Lahj and the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden coasts. Local demand has created practical opportunities in solar systems and water pumps, equipment repair, food processing, veterinary care, fisheries, boat maintenance and information and communications technology. These opportunities do not guarantee stable employment; they depend on security, local purchasing power, mobility, equipment, access to markets and the particular project or employer. Qualifications often do not match available positions. Formal pathways include secondary and higher education, Technical Education and Vocational Training, community colleges, technical institutes, apprenticeship known locally as تلمذة مهنية, on-the-job training and business or entrepreneurship programs. The United Nations Development Programme supported training for more than 1,500 young women and men in 24 districts across nine governorates, with women representing more than 58% of participants. In late 2024, the Federation of Yemen Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the International Labour Organization supported training for 100 solar technicians from seven governorates. These programs show locally targeted approaches, not a universal national certification system. A nationwide system for recognizing all skills and certificates has not been verified. Pay cannot be compared reliably through one national benchmark. The older survey reported average nominal monthly pay of 52,500 Yemeni rials, with approximately 40,400 for women, 53,300 for men and 34,500 for young workers, but these figures are not current and are not directly comparable across the currency split. In 2025, the Aden Yemeni rial temporarily traded at about 1,676 per US dollar, while the de facto exchange rate in Houthi-controlled areas was about 540 per US dollar. Inflation, import costs and currency depreciation have sharply reduced purchasing power. Public salaries in areas controlled by the internationally recognized government can be delayed or paid only partly, while public salary payments in Houthi-controlled areas have been largely suspended. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor is the formal institution for job matching in services operated from Aden and has counterpart institutions in Houthi-controlled areas. Under the labor-law framework, a job seeker can register with the ministry or a municipal employment office at the place of residence, giving an occupation, qualifications, experience and address. The registration certificate, شهادة قيد, is intended to be free. The ministry is expected to match applicants according to suitability and registration order. Employers are expected to report vacancies and new positions, including pay, within seven days and confirm the start of work within ten days. In practice, informal networks, daily work, employer contacts and project-based recruitment play a larger role than a unified public placement system. The Aden ministry portal lists job search, training and volunteer search, a local worker and talent database, registration and renewal, labor complaints, local and foreign workforce services and foreign-worker entry visas. A separate Yemeni Technical Competency Bank operated through the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology serves information and communications technology in Sana'a-linked institutions. Yemen's Labor Law No. 5 of 1995, with amendments in 1997, 2001 and 2003, treats work as a right and duty, provides for equal treatment under the law and recognizes written or oral employment contracts. It establishes minimum protections and labor-dispute committees, but enforcement is limited by divided institutions, informality and conflict. The framework does not apply in the same way to public-service employees, military and security personnel, domestic workers, casual workers and parts of agricultural work. Apprenticeship arrangements are intended to use a written contract stating the occupation, duration and payment; when the apprentice continues working for at least two years, the training period may count as service time. No nationwide unemployment cash benefit has been verified. Migration is part of Yemen's labor market. Yemen is a country of origin, transit and destination. Yemeni workers have historically migrated mainly to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, and remittances amounted to about 12.0% of gross domestic product in 2024. The International Organization for Migration recorded 16,784 Yemeni returnees from Saudi Arabia between April and July 2024, 97% of them men. Migration through Yemen's accessible areas from the Horn of Africa mainly involved Ethiopians and Somalis travelling toward Saudi Arabia or Oman; an April 2024 estimate counted about 42,000 migrants in accessible areas of ten of the twelve governorates controlled by the internationally recognized government, based on a September 2023 stock estimate. Irregular travel, smuggling, exploitation and violence create serious risks, while formal access to employment remains limited. Foreign-worker entry visas and related permissions involve labor, interior, immigration or passport authorities, and procedures differ by area. Women, young people, internally displaced people and migrants may face additional barriers involving security, mobility, social norms, documents, care responsibilities and access to markets. A realistic assessment therefore compares the local authority, currency, payment record, contract, travel conditions, skill recognition and source of recruitment rather than relying on a national average.