By Haddy Touray
The claim that the government created 163,000 jobs by the first quarter of 2026 has come under scrutiny amid questions over its consistency with available labour statistics.
Madi Jobarteh said the figure appears inconsistent with findings from the Gambia Labour Force Survey (GLFS) 2025, which estimates the country’s labour force at about 675,470 people, with approximately 619,620 employed.
He said 163,000 new jobs would represent about 25 percent of the national labour force, a scale of job creation he described as unlikely without major structural economic expansion or significant investment inflows.
Jobarteh noted that there has been no official report or statistical bulletin from the Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBoS) confirming the figures or outlining the methodology used.
The GLFS 2025 estimates the formal public and private sector workforce at about 116,700, while government employment is put at around 40,000, with security services accounting for fewer than 10,000.
He questioned how 163,000 jobs could be created within a short period without clear breakdowns by sector, job type, or employment category.
The government has not yet published a detailed explanation of the figure, including whether the jobs are permanent, temporary, formal or informal.
Jobarteh has called for a full breakdown of the data, including methodology, sectoral distribution and regional spread, to substantiate the claim and ensure transparency in national employment statistics.