LUSAKA, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Zambia's unemployment rate stood at 41.2 percent last year following the country's decision to embark on implementing a new measuring system on work and employment statistics, results of a survey released on Thursday have revealed.
Zambia is among countries in the world that have commenced implementing the 19th International Conference of Labor Statisticians Resolution, a new system being used to measure work and employment statistics.
According to the 2017 Labor Force Survey conducted by the country's statistics agency, the Central Statistical Office (CSO), about 2,971,170 people were employed as of last year out of the estimated labor force of 5,049,059.
According to the survey, 24.1 percent of the people were in formal employment while 75.9 percent were in the informal sector, with the number of employed males at 1,797,957 while females were at 1, 173,213.
The figures further showed that unemployment was higher among females at 48.8 percent compared to males at 34.8 percent.
The survey also revealed that youth unemployment stood at 48.6 percent, with urban areas recording a higher youth unemployment rate than rural areas.
Goodson Sinyenga, acting director of the statistics agency told reporters during the unveiling of the survey results that the full report will contain details of sector employment as well as professionals of those employed.
