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Zambia needs to create over 10 million new jobs by 2050 to keep its labour force participation and employment rates from declining.
This signals the need to unlock private sector’s role in driving these jobs and economic transformation.
Critical financial and business environment reforms are , therefore, required to unlock the private sector’s role in driving jobs and economic transformation.
This is contained in the recently launched World Bank’s Zambia Country Economic Memorandum titled “Unlocking productivity and economic transformation for better jobs.”
The World Bank indicated that Zambia’s private sector must deliver quality jobs at scale to keep up with the expanding working age population, contribute to economic transformation and reduce poverty.
Based on population growth projections, Zambia needed to create over 10 million new jobs by 2050 to keep its labour force participation and employment rates from declining.
The country’s working age population is projected to more than double between 2022 and 2050.
This growth would provide a demographic dividend if Zambia could drive productivity growth and economic transformation.
“However, if Zambia’s private sector fails to generate enough good jobs to absorb this expansion, economic growth will fail to permeate to the rest of the economy as new working-age Zambians will be unable to access productive opportunities.
This will limit its impact on poverty reduction and increase the risk of upheaval.
“Formal firms and jobs are generally more productive and offer higher wages, but they are still in a minority in Zambia.
“In addition, formal job creation has been concentrated in lower-paying and low-productivity sectors,” the Bank warned.
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