Ghana’s economy may be expanding, but for many workers, it feels like “running on a treadmill” moving from one job to another without real gains in income or security.
The World Bank’s latest Ghana Economic Update paints a sobering picture. Between 2012 and 2023, the country created 720,000 jobs in industry and services, but lost 470,000 in agriculture. While urban areas absorbed 2.4 million more working-age people during that time, real wages actually dropped by 3%.
The Bank warns that job creation is failing to keep pace with population growth. Youth participation in the labour force is shrinking, and roughly one million young Ghanaians have moved abroad. Key medium-skilled industries such as manufacturing, construction, and domestic services which often help people climb the income ladder, remain among the slowest-growing sectors.
Education, once a reliable route to better earnings, is also losing its edge. The supply of graduates now far exceeds the number of quality jobs available. Women remain concentrated in low-productivity work and face persistent gaps in pay and opportunity.
With the working-age population projected to rise by 4.8 million to 25.3 million over the next decade, the World Bank says bold reforms are urgent from attracting more private investment to boosting productivity and strengthening the link between schooling and employment.
Without decisive action, it warns, many Ghanaians will continue “working hard but going nowhere.”
