Job market shrinks
For over three months now, Shamus Tembo has been failing to provide for his nine-member household. He has no job to ensure him a stable income.
Having previously worked as a security guard, he has been surviving on pieceworks, mainly breaking stones, which earns him an average of K2 500 a day.
However, it is not every day that he is lucky with the pieceworks.
At 1.56 pm on Tuesday, Business Review found Tembo, alongisde other job seekers, seated outside the Blantyre Labour Office hoping to secure a job.
“Today is not a lucky day. I have no idea how I am going to feed my family.
“I am also two months due on rentals of K20 000 per month,” he said, adding that even though part of his house collapsed due to Tropical Cyclone Freddy, moving out is not an option.
Tembo hopes for the better as with no job, he is failing to take care of his family, let alone afford school fees for his children.
He is among many other Malawians who are facing the wrath of subdued economic environment the country has been experiencing in recent years, mainly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, weather-related shocks and yer-long Russia invasion of Ukraine that has disrupted global supply chains, pushing up prices, among others.
Since 2020, Malawi’s economy has registered an average growth rate of 2.2 percent.
On the other hand, Malawi’s unemployment levels have been deteriorating, rising from 4.9 percent in 2019 to 5.7 percent in 2021, according to International Labour Organisation (ILO) data. The Ministry of Labour forecasts a slow growth of about 0.6 percent in the creation of new jobs between this year and 2024.
Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, labour rights activist Luther Mambala said an increase in unemployment rate signals declining economic output and leads to reduced consumer spending.
He said: “Unemployed individuals have less disposable income. Unemployment leads to increased crime rates as individuals turn to illegal activities to make ends meet. This destabilises the economy and leads to decreased foreign investment
“Again, as more people become unemployed, government may need to increase spending on social welfare programmes to support those who are out of work.”
Consumer rights activist John Kapito said the low economic growth rates and unemployment will remain long-term challenge to attract foreign direct investment in Malawi.
“We need to restructure our employment policies and define the term employment so that our training programmes are tailored towards other sectors such as commercial farming, tourism and mining.”
Malawi Congress of Trade Unions president Charles Kumchenga said the rising unemployment rate also signifies rising poverty levels.
“Instead of employing people, may be let us look at how to empower people to venture into businesses to create employment,” he said.
Employers Consultative Association of Malawi executive director George Khaki said the country has experienced economic shocks, including the Covid-19 pandemic, the ongoing inflationary pressure and severe weather distresses that have reduced productivity and lessened aggregate demand for goods and services.
He said: “This has been reflected in the reduction of anticipated gross domestic product [GDP] figures. Reduced GDP means that fewer goods are being produced, which translates into lesser jobs.”
In its 2023 Global Employment Trends and Social Outlook, ILO says economic vulnerabilities, which have been prevalent in 2022 are expected to rise in 2023 and lead to indebtedness among workers and deterioration of working conditions for many workers.
The rising unemployment rates is a heavy blow to the Tonse Alliance administration election campaign promise to create one million jobs in the first 12 months in office.
In December last year, Ministry of Labour figures showed that in the first half of last fiscal year, 12 763 jobs were created in the formal sector while in informal sector, 112 006 jobs were created.
