Rwanda’s unemployment rate holds steady at 13.4%

By The Inspirer.

Rwanda’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 13.4% in May 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the latest Labour Force Survey by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR).

The figures indicate that roughly one in seven economically active people of working age was unemployed.

The survey found that Rwanda’s working-age population, comprising people aged 16 and above, exceeded 8.7 million. Of these, 4.7 million were employed, about 729,000 were unemployed, while 3.3 million were outside the labour force.

A total of 5,434,933 people were active in the labour market, representing a labour force participation rate of 62.1%, virtually unchanged from 62.2% recorded a year earlier.

Women’s participation in the labour force continued to lag behind that of men, with a gender gap of 15.2 percentage points.

Employment rates were highest among people aged 31 and above, with 56.9% employed, compared with 49.6% among those aged 16 to 30.

Overall, 53.8% of Rwanda’s working-age population was employed in May 2026, the same level recorded a year earlier. The employment gender gap also remained unchanged at 3.9 percentage points.

The services sector remained the country’s largest employer, accounting for 44.7% of all jobs, followed by agriculture at 39.1% and industry at 16.2%.

The report also highlighted continued investment activity. Between 2024 and June 2026, Rwanda registered private investment projects worth nearly US$8 billion, which are expected to generate about 118,000 jobs.

In 2025 alone, the country created more than 240,000 non-agricultural jobs.