It is the fourth comprehensive labour force survey conducted in The Gambia and its main objective is to generate accurate and timely labour market and socio-economic data to guide evidence-based policy formulation and inform national development planning processes.
However, according to the latest report Persons With Disabilities participation rate dropped significantly from 32.8% to 20.1%, compared to 47.4 % among those without disabilities.
“Although, the unemployment rate for PWD declined from 7.2 % to 3.8 %, this masks widespread non-participation. Informality among this group remains high, at 78.8 % in the latest Gambia Labour Force Survey. Among youth with disabilities, the Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET) rate rose slightly from 61.1% to 61.6%, further widening the gap with the national average.”
These disparities, the report added, point to the urgent need for inclusive policies that address discrimination, promote accessible work environments, and expand opportunities for training and formal employment.
Institutional sector
The report also maintained that the private sector remained the dominant source of employment in The Gambia, accounting for 88.8% of jobs, a slight decline from 89.6 % in the survey conducted in 2022-23.
“Public sector employment increased to 9.8 per cent from 8.9 per cent, while the share of those employed in private households declined marginally from 1.5% to 1.3%.”
Broad branch of economic activity
In this area, the services sector led the employment share, rising from 57.5 % to 61.7 %.
“Agriculture declined from 21.0% to 17.6 per cent, and industry remained relatively stable at around 21 per cent. Within the industry sector, manufacturing employment accounted for 8.9% of total employment in GLFS 2025, slightly down from 9.1% in GLFS 2022-23.”
Also, females continued to dominate in agriculture and services, while males were more engaged in industry.
