Informal sector employs 90% of workforce

THE Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) says 86,8 percent of employed individuals worked in the informal economy during the fourth quarter of 2023.
This underscores the growing role of the sector amidst ongoing economic pressures, as highlighted in the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) 2023 State of the Industry and Commerce report, which projects this expansion to continue, citing mounting competitive pressures for formal businesses.
According to ZimStat’s fourth-quarter update: “Of all persons employed in non-agriculture sectors, informally employed persons constituted 83,8 percent.”
During the quarter, the labour force participation rate for individuals in urban areas was 62,7 percent, while for those in rural areas, it was 36,4 percent.
In urban areas, the male labour force participation rate was 74,1 percent, while for females, the rate was 53,1 percent.

Bulawayo province had an employment-to-population ratio of 51,5 percent, while Harare province was at 50,5 percent.
The employment-to-population ratio for individuals in urban areas was 50,7 percent, while for rural areas, the ratio was 28,2 percent.
“For females in rural areas, the employment to population ratio was 19,5 percent. For males in rural areas, the rate was 38,1 percent. Of the employed females, 21,5 percent were in the agriculture sector, while 22,9 percent of the employed males were also in the same sector,” ZimStats reported.
The statistics agency noted that employed males in the Harare province constituted 25,2 percent of all employed males, while 26 percent of all employed females were also in the same province. Persons in elementary occupations made up 26,4 percent of all employed persons, while 0,8 percent of all employed persons had at least one form of functional disability.
Most of the male and female employed population reported having 40 to 49 hours per week as usual working hours.
Of the employed persons, 22,7 percent had labour incomes ranging from $400 001 to $800 000. Average monthly incomes ranged from $520 194 in the “Activities of Households as Employers of Domestic Personnel” sector to $4 038 239 in the “Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conditioning Supply” sector.
The agency highlighted that the highest proportion of employed persons who reported work-related illnesses and injuries, standing at 23,1 percent, were in manufacturing. The agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors had the largest proportion of persons who lost jobs in the three months preceding the survey at 14,7 percent.
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