António Estote, who was speaking this Wednesday at a meeting with the press promoted by the Ministry of Public Administration, Labor and Social Security, said that compared to the second half of 2023 there was an increase of 16 percent.
The official said that among the sectors that generated the most jobs are collective personal social services (public services for social needs), with 29 percent, commerce, with 15 percent, construction, with 10 percent, and real estate activities, with 10 percent.
In his intervention, the Secretary of State for Labor and Social Security considered the unemployment rate in Angola to be "challenging", which was above 32 percent in the first quarter of this year.
Pedro Filipe said that the concern about employment continues to occupy the Government's agenda, highlighting that the reversal of a large part of this situation is "dependent on the health" of the economy.
Data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) for the first quarter indicate that the unemployment rate in the population, aged 15 or over, was estimated at 32.4 percent, being higher for women (31.4 percent ) compared to men (33.4 percent), a difference of two percentage points.
Although the unemployment rate is "still high", Pedro Filipe highlighted that it is within the general range found in countries in the southern region and on the African continent in general.
According to Pedro Filipe, the ministry has been carrying out several measures aligned with the national employment agenda to promote employability, noting that the launch of the National Employment Fund (Funea), approved in May 2023, is scheduled for the 6th next August.
The official highlighted that Funea, with a value of 27 billion kwanzas, will be capitalized with 21 billion kwanzas from the General State Budget and with six billion kwanzas, made available by the National Social Security Institute (INSS), in scope of its obligation to contribute to the promotion of employment policies.
For the first phase, Pedro Filipe said that the disbursement of 10 billion kwanzas is expected.
"Our expectation is that this instrument will boost the process of professional training, entrepreneurship and promotion of employment", he highlighted, highlighting that the data from the Angolan economy in the first quarter are encouraging.
"The country grew by around 4.6 percent, and in the second quarter the preliminary data are also very encouraging (...), which means that with the growth of the economy, more companies will be able to employ and absorb labor , the more dynamism our economy will gain and with greater ease we will be able to address this issue, which concerns us a lot, which has to do with the reduction in the employment rate, which is still very considerable", he said.
