Labor market in Benin

In Benin, around 60.3% of people aged 15 to 64 participated in the labor market in 2021–2022. Depending on the calculation method, the unemployment rate was 1.9% according to the ILO measurement and 2.4% in a World Bank series. At the same time, 29.9% were visibly underemployed. Many people therefore work but receive too few hours, a low income, or only partly use their skills. Self-employment, family work, and informal activities play a larger role in the labor market than conventional employment with a written contract and social protection. Outside agriculture, 92.2% of workers were informally employed. The share was 96.5% among women and 86.6% among men. Labor-market participation also differs: it was 54.1% among women and 67.5% among men. These figures describe not only a lack of jobs but also differences in access, care responsibilities, qualifications, capital, and the ability to reach a formal position. Agriculture remains a central basis for livelihoods and income. Relevant value chains include cotton, cashew, pineapple, rice, maize, and soy. In cities and along the coast, trade, transport, logistics, construction, and services shape the labor market. Industry, textiles, and food processing are growing partly through GDIZ in Glo-Djigbé. Economic growth was 7.5% in 2024 and was driven particularly by services and industry. Programmes such as PACOFIDE promote irrigated rice and vegetable production in the north as well as value creation in cashew and pineapple. Regional conditions differ greatly. In the available data, labor-force participation ranged from 38.3% in Atacora to 71.2% in Plateau. The share of informal activities outside agriculture was 87.0% in Littoral and 96.8% in Collines; 97.0% was measured in rural Plateau. Of the 237,488 businesses recorded in 2023, 24.2% were in Littoral, 19.2% in Atlantique, 14.1% in Ouémé, and 10.6% in Borgou. These business shares are not employment shares. The survey did not include all agricultural businesses, mobile traders, taxi drivers, and public administrations, among others. Among the ten cities covered, 90.6% of businesses were informal according to the strict criterion used. The Ministry of Labour and the Civil Service (Ministère du Travail et de la Fonction Publique) is responsible for labor-market policy and labor law, particularly through the General Directorate of Labour (Direction Générale du Travail). The National Institute of Statistics and Demography (INStaD) publishes official labor and business statistics. The public employment service (AnpE) provides labor-market information, career guidance, employer contacts, placement, short training courses, support for self-employment, pre-integration, THIMO, and voluntary services. AnpE has 13 offices in the twelve departments; local employment units (ULPE) reach all 77 municipalities. Through the online information and registration system (SICA), jobseekers and employers can obtain information and register. In 2023, 48,718 jobseekers were registered with AnpE, of whom 9,102 were placed or integrated. These figures show only AnpE administrative cases and not the size of the entire labor market. Direct contact with companies, personal networks, markets, private placement, and self-employment therefore remain important routes into work. Selected TRE work-experience offers (TRE) and TIPEI programme (TIPEI) offers from AnpE are free of charge; TRE lasts five days and is usually followed by one to three months of work experience in a company and takes place twice a month. Capacity-building offers are also free and last from one week to one month depending on the offer. There is no general placement deadline. Programme deadlines and eligibility requirements change and must be checked in the current call. Vocational and technical education and training (EFTP) shapes professional and technical education in Benin. Law No. 2022-01 provides a legal framework; Decree No. 2022-389 regulates the certification of training sites. The national EFTP strategy (SN-EFTP) 2020–2030 and the continuing education, apprenticeship, and training fund (FODEFCA) support further training, apprenticeships, retraining, and qualifications for businesses. This also concerns private and informal businesses. A lack of suitable qualifications and low productivity continue to make the transition to more stable and better-paid work difficult. The statutory minimum wage (SMIG) has been 52,000 FCFA per month since January 2023. It is the statutory floor for covered dependent employment and does not guarantee income for informal or self-employed work. Actual pay depends greatly on the sector, qualifications, region, working time, and formalization; no current nationwide wage distribution was available in the official sources reviewed. Labor Code No. 98-004 applies to employees and employers in Benin, including apprentices, but excludes certain permanently employed senior civil servants in the public administration. Written contracts, contract review, and access to social insurance are particularly relevant in formal or registered employment. A fixed-term contract may last no more than two years and may be renewed once. For contract visas, approval is deemed granted after 30 days without a response. The specific application should be checked against current implementing regulations and the individual case. For qualified women and young people aged 18 to 40, the P2RDE support programme (P2RDE) offers, among other things, access to registration, project review, and measures lasting no more than three months; depending on the call, a diploma or qualification and French-language skills are required. The ProDIJ programme (ProDIJ) targets particularly vulnerable young people aged 15 to 30 with no more than a lower-secondary certificate (BEPC) and operates in all 77 municipalities, including offers for women. These programmes are time-limited and do not replace a general guarantee of placement or income. Regional mobility is supported by the freedom-of-movement, residence, and establishment rules of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Benin recorded around 418,000 migrants in 2024, about 2.9% of the population; this figure describes the total migrant population and not only labor migration. For foreign workers, Decree No. 2024-1462 regulates requirements for permits, contracts, and residence depending on the activity and status. Fees and processing times are not summarized in one current overview. Population growth, urbanization, the shift from agriculture to services, industrialization through GDIZ, digital placement through SICA, and risks from climate, flooding, and the coast are changing the labor market. Better employment and higher productivity therefore depend not only on the number of new jobs but also on qualifications, formalization, infrastructure, and market access.