According to the survey results, the working age population (16 years and above) kept its increasing trend from 6.8 million in August 2017 to around 7 million in August 2018.
Of the working age, 55.2 percent were in the labour force while 44.8 percent were out of the labour force.
For those who were in the labource force, 14.3 percent were unemployed. During the same period, the labour force grew by around 276 thousand persons while the employed population grew by around 361 thousand persons. Over the year, the unemployment rate in Rwanda decreased by 3.5 percentage points from 17.8 in august 2017 to 14.3 percent in August 2018.
The number of unemployed persons has declined by around 85 thousand persons between August 2017 and August 2018.
Compared to the estimate of the previous round, it has decreased by around 1.7 percentage points from 16.0 percent obtained in February 2018.
The employment to population ratio1 was 47.3 percent in August 2018, compared to 44.8 percent in February 2018 and to 43.5 percent in August 2017.
The labour force participation rate observed in August 2018 was 55.2 percent and it has slightly increased compared to 53.3 percent observed in the previous round and also increased by 2.3 percentage points as compared to the one of August 2017.
The proportion of the working age population out of the labour force estimated in August 2018 was 44.8 percent, lower than the estimate for August 2017 (47.2 percent).
More than a half of the population outside the labour force, representing 23.0 percent of working age population, was exclusively involved in subsistence agriculture in August 2018; slightly lower than 24.8 percent of August 2017.
The remaining population outside labour force were mainly enrolled in schools, or engaged in housework or family commitments.