Unemployment is a term used to describe the situation where people who are employable or available for work and are actively seeking for employment are unable to find one. Ghana’s rate of unemployment continues to experience a massive inrush year after year and the backlog of unemployed people in the country, most of who are not only youthful but also educated is worrying and unfortunate especially against the backdrop of all the numerous natural resources available in the country.
The country’s current unemployment situation can be likened to a patient in the intensive care unit of a hospital who is on life support and needs urgent and critical medical attention, a situation which if not checked could be disastrous in the not too distant future until urgent steps are taken to reverse the trend.
Official statistics on unemployment in the country is not readily available. Some informal sources however estimate the rate of unemployment to be around 5% but a cursory look at the large army of unemployed people in the country amply indicates that unemployment in the country could be more pervasive and widespread than reported.
Sadly the situation continues to exacerbate year after year with no hope in sight. As is expected tertiary institutions in the country both public and private churn out many graduates onto the job market each year but after their mandatory national service most of these graduates go and stay at home as there are but only a few job opportunities available in the system.