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Liberia’s Youth Unemployment: A National Emergency

  • Writer: Michael T
    Michael T
  • Jul 4
  • 2 min read
Hint of the Scenes at the Ministry of Labour
Hint of the Scenes at the Ministry of Labour

Countless young Liberians have been gathering the last few days outside the Ministry of Labor in Congo Town, hoping to secure a simple application form for a vacation job. Some arrived as early as 5 a.m., clutching folders and documents, anxious not to miss out on one of the 1,000 placements promised by the Ministry’s annual Vacation Job Scheme. For many, it’s about survival in a country where steady employment remains out of reach for most young people.


According to the International Labour Organization, more than 80% of Liberian youth are stuck in informal or vulnerable jobs, scraping by on irregular earnings with little hope of advancement. The World Bank puts the overall unemployment rate at just over 4%, but this number barely scratches the surface. Most young people are either underemployed or not working at all, and the African Development Bank estimates that over a third of Liberia’s youth are not in education, employment, or training.


The consequences of this crisis are everywhere. Young people face a daily struggle to earn enough to eat, pay for school, or support their families. Many are forced into low-paid, sometimes dangerous work. Others, unable to find any work at all, risk falling into crime or exploitation. The country’s social fabric is stretched thin as a generation waits for a chance that may never come.


These scenes outside the Labor Ministry are a hint of a national emergency that demands urgent attention.





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Additional Sources


  1. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SLUEM1524ZSLBR

  2. https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/lbr/liberia/youth-unemployment-rate

  3. https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/youth-unemployment-rate-for-liberia-fed-data.html

  4. https://www.ilo.org/media/436196/download

  5. https://lisgis.gov.lr/admin_area/surveys/pdf/202501236523198LBR201617LiberiaLabourForceSurveyReportFinal.pdf

  6. https://cdn.sida.se/app/uploads/2024/11/04174706/MDPA-Liberia-2024_Final.pdf

  7. https://tradingeconomics.com/liberia/unemployment-rate

  8. https://www.statista.com/statistics/808768/unemployment-rate-in-liberia/

  9. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.1524.ZS?locations=LR

  10. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/youth-unemployment-rate-ages-15-24/country-comparison/

  11. https://lisgis.gov.lr/censusreport/thematic/ThematicReportonChildrenAdolescentYouth.pdf

  12. https://www.destatis.de/EN/Themes/Countries-Regions/International-Statistics/Country-Profiles/liberia.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=16

  13. https://www.statista.com/statistics/812187/youth-unemployment-rate-in-liberia/

  14. https://humancapital.worldbank.org/en/indicator/WB_HCP_EMP_NIFL_Y

  15. https://humancapital.worldbank.org/en/indicator/WB_HCP_UNE_2EAP_MF_Y

  16. https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/youth-not-in-employment-education-or-training-neet.html

  17. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/

  18. http://genderdata.worldbank.org/en/indicator/sl-uem-neet-zs

  19. https://www.skillsforemployment.org/sites/default/files/2024-01/wcmstest4_083045.pdf

  20. https://www.afro.who.int/sites/default/files/2025-05/2024%20WHO%20Liberia%20Annual%20Report.pdf

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