Unemployment rose to 15.6% in Rwanda in August 2026, up from 13.4% a year earlier, according to the labour force survey published on Tuesday 20 October by the National Institute of Statistics. The 2.2-point increase represents about 878,000 people without a job within a labour force estimated at 5.6 million.
The deterioration affects women more, with an unemployment rate of 18.3%, compared with 13.3% for men. Those aged 16 to 30 have a rate of 18.8%, higher than the 13.1% recorded among adults. Unemployment is also slightly higher in rural areas, at 16%, than in urban areas, where it stands at 14.8%.
The decline in employment is also visible in the share of working-age people who actually hold a job. This ratio fell from 57% in August 2025 to 54% a year later. The institute estimates the number of employed people at 4.8 million, while 3.2 million residents aged 16 and over remain outside the labour force.
Labour force participation fell to 63.9%, from 65.8% a year earlier. The gap between men and women remains marked, with respective rates of 73% and 55.8%. The employment-to-population ratio stands at 63.3% for men, compared with 45.6% for women.
The broader measure of labour underutilisation, which adds to unemployment time-related underemployment and people who could join the labour force, rose from 56.7% to 61.8% over the year. It reaches 68.6% for women and 63.1% for young people. The survey covers the period from 1 to 31 August and calculates the unemployment rate among people who are working or actively seeking employment, rather than across the entire working-age population.