Africa-Press – Malawi. Every year in Malawi, about 270,000 young people step into the labour market hoping to find work, but the economy is producing only about 40,000 formal jobs, leaving the vast majority of them without meaningful employment.
This stark reality is revealed in the latest Malawi Economic Monitor released by the World Bank Group, which paints a worrying picture of an economy struggling to create opportunities for its fast-growing population.
The report shows that Malawi’s labour market is under intense pressure. Each year, far more young people are looking for jobs than the economy can absorb. As a result, thousands of school leavers, college graduates and university graduates are forced to wait, search endlessly for work, or settle for low-paying informal activities just to survive.
Growth too weak to create jobs
According to the report, the country’s economic growth has been too slow to create enough employment. Malawi’s economy has faced repeated shocks in recent years, including cyclones, high inflation, foreign exchange shortages and rising public debt. These challenges have slowed down business activity and discouraged investment. Because of this, many companies are unable to expand or hire more workers. Some businesses are even operating below their normal capacity due to difficulties in accessing foreign exchange to import raw materials.
With the private sector struggling, job creation has remained painfully low.
Young people trapped in informal work
With only a small number of formal jobs available each year, most young people are pushed into the informal economy. This means they survive through small businesses, street vending, piecework, or other unstable forms of employment that often provide little income and no security. While such activities help people survive, they rarely provide stable livelihoods or long-term economic growth.
For many young Malawians, the dream of stable employment remains out of reach.
Education not producing the right skills
The report also highlights a major problem in Malawi’s education system. Although many young people spend years in school, the quality of learning remains low. This means that students often leave school without the skills employers need. As a result, even when jobs become available, many employers struggle to find workers with the right training or practical abilities.
This gap between education and the labour market continues to weaken productivity and slow down economic growth.
Private sector seen as the key
The report argues that the only sustainable way to solve Malawi’s employment crisis is to create an environment where businesses can grow and invest. This means improving economic stability, addressing foreign exchange shortages, supporting exports and strengthening skills training for young people. If businesses expand and new industries grow, they can create the jobs needed to absorb the thousands of young people entering the labour market every year.
A warning for the future
Malawi has one of the youngest populations in the world. This youthful population could become a powerful driver of economic growth if jobs are created. But the report warns that without urgent reforms and stronger economic growth, the country risks facing a growing unemployment crisis among its young people.
For now, the numbers tell a troubling story about the state of the economy: hundreds of thousands of young people searching for opportunity, while only a small number of jobs are available.
It is a gap that continues to grow each year—and one that will shape the country’s economic future.
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