Angola created more than 1.1 million formal jobs between 2018 and 2025, official data show, as the government points to progress in employment policy despite persistently high unemployment and a labour market dominated by informality.
Statistics published in October by the Ministry of Public Administration, Labour and Social Security indicate that formal job creation accelerated over the period, supported by economic recovery measures following the oil price shock, macroeconomic reforms and efforts to diversify Africa’s second-largest oil producer.
Labour Minister Teresa Rodrigues Dias said the results reflected “coherent and articulated public policies” aimed at promoting professional integration, formalising economic activity and strengthening social protection systems.
The ministry said the jobs were recorded through formal sector registration and administrative monitoring mechanisms, adding that improvements in data collection and statistical tools had also helped capture employment trends more accurately. Authorities have modernised employment, civil service and vocational training databases in recent years to better track labour market developments.
Alongside job creation, the government highlighted progress in skills development. In 2024, the National Institute of Employment and Vocational Training provided professional training to more than 150,000 people, with several hundred thousand beneficiaries supported over recent years. Officials say the goal is to better align skills with labour market needs and improve employability, particularly for young people.
Despite these gains, Angola’s labour market remains under significant strain.
According to the National Institute of Statistics, the unemployment rate for people aged 15 and over stood at about 28.8 percent in the second quarter of 2025, based on its August Employment Survey. While the rate has declined compared with earlier years, nearly one in three economically active people remained without work.
Youth unemployment is a particular concern in a country with a predominantly young population. People aged 15 to 24 account for a large share of the unemployed, heightening social and economic risks. The 2025 Employment Survey showed that the labour force aged 15 and above grew by 0.2 percent compared with the previous quarter, reflecting the steady entry of new graduates and first-time jobseekers into the market.
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The dominance of the informal sector further complicates the picture. More than 78 percent of workers are engaged in informal activities, often characterised by low productivity, job insecurity and limited income. High informality restricts access to social protection, reduces tax revenues and makes it difficult to fully assess employment dynamics.
In this context, the rise in registered formal jobs signals progress but captures only part of the labour market. Analysts note that formal job growth must accelerate further to make a meaningful dent in unemployment and underemployment.
Angola’s economy remains heavily dependent on hydrocarbons, despite diversification efforts into agriculture, trade, services and construction, which together absorb a large share of the workforce. These sectors, however, are often associated with low-skilled and low-productivity employment.
The International Monetary Fund has warned that Angola faces a major challenge in creating sustainable, skilled jobs capable of supporting long-term growth. The fund has stressed the need to expand higher value-added activities, improve the business environment and strengthen education and training systems.
The government’s headline figure of 1.1 million formal jobs reflects genuine momentum in job creation and formalisation over five years. But economists say the broader impact will depend on continued reductions in unemployment, improvements in job quality and the capacity of training systems to meet the needs of a transforming economy.
Without deeper structural reforms, they warn, gains in formal employment may struggle to keep pace with population growth and the rising number of young Angolans entering the labour market each year.
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Background to Angola’s labour market
Angola’s labour market challenges are closely tied to its recent economic history. The country slipped into a prolonged recession after the 2014 collapse in global oil prices, which sharply reduced state revenues, weakened public investment and triggered widespread job losses. Growth only began to stabilise from 2021, helped by higher oil prices, debt restructuring, fiscal consolidation and currency reforms. These adjustments improved macroeconomic stability but also constrained public sector hiring, forcing job creation to rely increasingly on the private sector.
Although Angola remains one of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest oil producers, hydrocarbons account for the bulk of exports and government revenue while employing only a small share of the workforce. This disconnect has long limited the economy’s ability to absorb new entrants into the labour market, particularly young people and first-time jobseekers. Diversification efforts have focused on agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing, logistics and services, but progress has been uneven and investment has been slow to translate into large-scale employment.
Structural constraints continue to weigh on job creation. Businesses face high operating costs, limited access to credit, skills mismatches and weak infrastructure outside major urban centres. Small and medium-sized enterprises — which typically drive employment growth — struggle to expand in an environment dominated by informality and low productivity. As a result, many workers turn to informal activities as the only available source of income.
International partners, including the International Monetary Fund, have repeatedly stressed that sustained job creation will depend on accelerating private-sector-led growth, improving education and vocational training, and strengthening institutions that support entrepreneurship and labour market matching. The IMF has also highlighted the need to improve the quality of jobs, not just their number, by promoting sectors with higher value addition and export potential.
Against this backdrop, the government’s reported gains in formal employment signal progress in registration, compliance and labour administration. However, analysts caution that translating formal job growth into broad-based improvements in living standards will require faster economic diversification, deeper reforms and sustained investment capable of keeping pace with Angola’s young and rapidly growing population.
