Despite its impressive growth rates over the years, Ghana confronts a significant difficulty in producing more and better jobs since there is a “missing middle” of mid-productivity employment options, according to a World Bank report.
The research, titled ‘Rising Ghana,’ reveals that the agriculture sector has been losing ground in terms of employment, although it remains the country’s greatest source of employment.
“A rising star,” it added, “but Ghana’s growth route has not been easy.”
According to the research, the country is facing a serious productivity crisis, since service productivity has been unchanged for the past 20 years, while manufacturing productivity has fallen.
Small-scale informal services, however, have absorbed labor but are inefficient.
The financial services industry had the highest employment growth rate of almost 650 percent between 1990 and 2018.
Government services rose by a little more than 400 percent, followed by commercial services, which climbed by over 400 percent.
Agriculture and mining have the slowest employment growth rates.
If the government wants to increase job creation and productivity, the research advised that it start an economic reform program in its next development phase.
It also stated that Ghana must emphasize macroeconomic management and financial sector development, but cautioned that climate change posed a significant danger to the country’s long-term progress.
“The success of the private sector is dependent on financial sector development, yet credit availability in Ghana is limited. Macroeconomic stability is a key generator of progress, yet Ghana has seen a lot of volatility and instability. Natural resource wealth must be used in order to promote long-term growth, and domestic income mobilization must be expanded in order to invest in public goods.”