The Statistician General (SG) of the Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBoS), Mr. Nyakassi Sanyang, has revealed that the country’s labour force now stands at 781,868 persons. Of this figure, 733,364 are employed while 48,504 remain unemployed. He noted that between the first quarter of the 2023 Gambia Labour Force Survey (GLFS) and the first quarter of 2026, the labour force participation rate rose sharply from 43.6 percent to 54.5 percent—an increase of 10.9 percentage points.
Mr. Sanyang made the disclosure on Friday, 24 July 2026, during the National Seminar on the Dissemination of the Findings of the GLFS 2026 (Q1), which also reviewed labour market progress and trends since the survey was first conducted in 2023.
The GLFS 2026 (Q1) is a nationally representative household survey employing a two‑stage stratified sampling design.
Mr. Nyakassi Sanyang, the Statistician General (SG) of GBoS, said that the survey achieved a household response rate of 97.6 percent, an adult individual response rate of 96.3 percent, and a child response rate of 98.9 percent. These high response rates indicate robust data quality. He added that the data underwent rigorous weighting and post‑stratification procedures to ensure representativeness at national, urban/rural, and LGA levels.
Key Findings
Labour Force and Employment:
He reported that the working‑age population aged 15 years and older is estimated at 1,434,115 persons in 2026. “The labour force stands at 781,868 persons, with 733,364 employed and 48,504 unemployed. Between GLFS 2023 (Q1) and GLFS 2026 (Q1), the labour force participation rate increased from 43.6 percent to 54.5 percent, an increase of 10.9 percentage points,” he said.
Unemployment and Labour Underutilization:
He explained that labour underutilization, measured by LU3 (which combines unemployment and the potential labour force), was 23.6 percent in Q1 2026. The composite measure, LU4 (which combines unemployment, time‑related underemployment, and the potential labour force), stood at 32.1 percent. Time‑related underemployment was 11.1 percent, affecting approximately 81,725 persons, while discouraged job seekers accounted for 5.4 percent of the working‑age population.
Employment Structure:
He said that services remain the largest sector, accounting for 57.9 percent of total employment. Industry has strengthened its contribution, increasing from 21.2 percent in 2023 to 24.3 percent in 2026, while agriculture now accounts for 17.8 percent of employment.
Job Quality and Informality:
SG Sanyang indicated that the survey estimates 85.8 percent of employed persons are engaged in informal employment, meaning fewer than one in seven workers hold a formal job. He said informality is highest in construction (98.1 percent), agriculture (97.7 percent), accommodation and food services (93.6 percent), and wholesale and retail trade (91.5 percent).
He concluded that although the Gambian labour market is showing encouraging signs of progress, the findings remind us that important challenges remain. These findings, he averred, highlight opportunities for continued policy action to promote productive employment, decent work, and inclusive economic growth.
