The overall unemployment rate for this period was 14.7%, marking a 1.1% rise from the 2022 figure.
Notably, female unemployment consistently exceeded male unemployment, contributing to a widening gender gap compared to the previous year, especially due to a significant increase in female unemployment between Q4 2022 and Q1 2023, as highlighted in the 2023 Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey Third Quarter Labour Statistics Report.
The report highlighted a progressive widening of the unemployment gap between urban and rural areas throughout the initial three quarters of 2023.
Notably, in the second and third quarters, urban unemployment rates were nearly twice as high as those in rural areas.
Examining regional variations, only four regions namely Eastern, Bono East, Oti, and Upper West reported unemployment rates below the national average across all quarters.
Conversely, Greater Accra and the Ashanti region consistently experienced unemployment rates surpassing the national average during this timeframe.
High unemployment in Ghana is attributed to a misalignment between education and the skills demanded by the labor market.