Fact check: 24-Hour Economy Chief Partnership Officer’s claim that Ghana’s unemployment rate is 6.4% is not supported by official data

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The Chief Partnership Officer of the 24-Hour Economy Secretariat, Dr Ishmael Nii Amanor Dodoo, has claimed that Ghana’s unemployment rate has fallen to about 6.4%, down from 9.4%.Dr Dodoo made the claim during an interview with Kenneth Gyasi on JoyNews’ The Pulse on July 22, 2026, while discussing the progress of the 24-Hour Economy programme and its expected impact on employment.“If you look at the recent statistics from the Ghana Statistical Service, the unemployment rate has reduced drastically from 14.1% to 9.4%, and today it is about 6.4%. We are trying to move it to about 5%,” he said.The claim is not supported by any official data currently published by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).The latest available labour market statistics published by the Ghana Statistical Service are contained in its Quarterly Labour Force Survey, released in December 2025. The report covers the third quarter of 2025 and shows that Ghana’s unemployment rate stood at 13%.The 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review, presented by Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson on July 23, 2026, similarly reports an average unemployment rate of 12.8%, down from 13.7% over the comparable period in 2024.Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Finance Minister. The budget figures are consistent with the latest GSS data. According to the GSS, the unemployment figures for 2025 are:Q1 2025: 12.8%Q2 2025: 12.6%Q3 2025: 13%The average across the three quarters is 12.8%, matching the figure reported in the Mid-Year Budget Review.The available official data therefore shows that unemployment has declined modestly from 13.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024 to an average of 12.8% in the first three quarters of 2025.However, no official data released by the Ghana Statistical Service shows unemployment falling to 6.4%.A fall in unemployment from 13.0% to about 6.4% within roughly six months would represent one of the sharpest declines recorded in Ghana’s labour market. Such a change would normally reflect a substantial increase in employment, a significant shift in labour force participation, or changes in statistical methodology. No official data published by the Ghana Statistical Service currently documents any such development.Verdict: UnbackedThe claim by the Chief Partnership Officer of the 24-Hour Economy Secretariat that Ghana’s unemployment rate has fallen to about 6.4% is unbacked.The latest official data published by the Ghana Statistical Service places unemployment at 13% in the third quarter of 2025, while the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review reports an average rate of 12.8% for the first three quarters of 2025.No official dataset currently supports the 6.4% figure.