In its 2023 Second Quarterly Labour Force Survey, ZimStat
says the unemployment rate in Zimbabwe is 19,7 percent.
The country is a member of the International Labour Organisation
and subscribes to internationally acceptable principles and definitions of
labour market indicators.
ZimStat also emphasises the official definition of
unemployment because of its international comparability.
In Zimbabwe, the labour force comprises persons 15 years
and above, according to ZimStat. When ZimStat conducts household-based surveys
to collect data on unemployment, first, it asks if one has done any work for
pay or profit in the last seven days. Secondly, it seeks to ascertain whether
one tried to find a job or start a business in the last 30 days and, thirdly,
ZimStat asks if the person is able to start working within the next 14 days if
an opportunity arises.
The data captures people engaged in both formal and
informal economic activities.
ZimStat says the logic behind the first question is to
ascertain whether one has done any economic activity to generate income or not.
So, by definition, if one was engaged in an economic activity during the
reference period that resulted in an income, then one cannot be deemed
unemployed.
The essence of the second question is to determine if one
was actively seeking employment. Those not actively seeking employment are
termed discouraged job seekers or persons who are no longer seeking employment,
maybe because it has taken too long to secure a job.
Such people, according to ZimStat, cannot fall under the category
of people considered unemployed.
The rationale behind the third question is to establish
persons who are not available for employment due to various reasons. Those not
available for employment and discouraged job seekers are not included among the
unemployed.
As such, for one to be classified as unemployed, the answer
should be “no” to the first question and “yes” to the second and third
questions. ZimStat director-general Mr Takura Mahonde says the statistical
agency had noted claims of perceived unemployment rates of as high as 90
percent, saying such figures were not scientifically backed, with the potential
consequence of misinforming the public.
Explains Mr Mahonde: “Two major types of misconceptions on
labour statistics pertain to employment in the informal sector and labour
underutilisation. It is a common pitfall to assume that employment relates to
the formal sector only. This stems from the opinion that the formal sector
should absorb all the labour supplied on the market.
“Unfortunately, this view falls short of what constitutes
employment as it excludes persons employed in the informal sector and the
self-employed. Further, some analysts are of the mistaken view that persons who
are underemployed, that is, whose labour is underutilised, are unemployed.
“Unfortunately, this perception would exclude the
following: precarious employment (casual and part-time workers), time-related
underemployment (employed persons available and willing to work more hours
provided they are remunerated) and persons in qualifications mismatch (who are
over-qualified for their jobs.)”
Since the turn of the millennium, the economy went through
a structural transformation, which created empowered individuals who are no
longer relying on formal employment for sustenance, but have created their own
small businesses.
The culture of being an employee for big business has been
replaced by an empowerment mentality, in which the person on the street has
effectively become “his own boss”.
While a lot of workers have been thrust into this situation
as a result of job losses in the formal sector, there has been a substantial
redistribution of wealth from the big business to small one, thereby empowering
previously unempowered individuals.
Big businesses have been replaced by micro, small and
medium enterprise (MSMEs) informal traders in key economic sectors such as
agriculture, mining, retail, manufacturing, construction and transport.
The loss for big business has been the gain for individual
economic empowerment.
With over 65 percent of the people living in rural areas
and the bulk of the urban population operating in the informal sector, it is
clear that the sector is now the biggest employer.
Mr Mahonde notes that Zimbabwe’s labour force is estimated
at 4 034 721 as of July 2023, from a population of 15,3 million. Sunday Mail
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