This is the third in a series of Key Facts sheets that IFPRI has produced based on the fifth Malawi Integrated Household Survey of 2019/20. The purpose of the series is to present data relevant to key policy issues on agriculture, food systems, and development topics in Malawi.
Highlights from this key facts sheet include:
- Agriculture continues to dominate employment in Malawi. Almost 90 percent of those of working age (15 to 64 years of age) who are employed work in the sector. While a larger share of younger youth (ages 15 to 24 years) is continuing with their education, when these individuals enter the workforce, most do so by working in agriculture.
- Trends seen in the decade through 2016/17 of increasing employment in the services sector have reversed in recent years. Growth in employment in both the industry and the services sectors did not keep pace with growth in the number of working age individuals in Malawi between 2016/17 and 2019/20.
- About one-third of rural households reported having a household enterprise, while more than half of urban household do. Those for rural households are likely to be seasonal in nature. The enterprises typically involve traditional production activities or the provision of basic skilled services to other households in the community.
- Wage employment is not common. In rural areas, only 14 percent of households reported a member with wage employment. Almost half of urban households have a member with such employment.
- Engaging in casual ganyu labor is more common in rural than in urban households. However, those involved in ganyu in urban centers are more likely to dedicate more days annually to such work. We see that men and women engage in ganyu to similar degrees, but that men are more likely than women to do so when younger.
Read and download the full key facts sheet: Employment here (PDF 606 KB)
Authors: Todd Benson and Aubrey Jolex
