Employment in Afghanistan

Employment in Afghanistan is organised through public service, private companies, NGOs, international organisations and private employment agencies, but no single nationwide public employment portal has been verified. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA) and provincial Labor and Social Affairs structures handle formal employment matters. The Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVET-A) supports formal training, including non-formal courses lasting about 3 to 12 months. Private apprenticeships, agriculture, daily labour, street vending, taxi work, sewing, carpet weaving, food processing and other home-based activities provide additional ways to earn income. Cash-for-work programmes provide short-term income but do not create regular employment. The formal framework lists Afghan nationality, a vocational certificate, a health certificate and secondary or higher education among the usual conditions for employees, with exceptions for support staff. It sets the minimum age at 18 for ordinary work, 15 for light work and 14 for training. A Tazkira or other National ID can be needed to verify age. Actual access and enforcement vary considerably across sectors and provinces. A formal employment contract should state the work, wage, working hours, leave, workplace and duration. The framework provides for three copies for the worker, MoLSA and the employer’s human-resources function. A fixed term of one year is standard, extensions require agreement, and probation may last up to three months. A worker ending a non-fixed-term contract generally gives one month of written notice. Pay may be monthly, every 15 days, weekly or based on completed work. A government minimum wage is referenced in the framework, but the current nationwide amount in AFN has not been verified. Ordinary working time is limited to 40 hours per week in the formal framework, with lower limits for young workers, underground or hazardous work and pregnant workers. Overtime supplements are 25% on ordinary days and 50% on rest days or holidays. Night-work supplements are 15% in service and administrative work and 25% in production. The framework also provides paid maternity leave of 90 days, normally 30 days before and 60 days after delivery, with an additional 15 days for an abnormal delivery or twins. Paid public, annual, sick and urgent leave and social-protection provisions exist in the legal framework, but their practical coverage is not fully verified. Employment can end by agreement, expiry of a fixed term, retirement, death, incapacity, more than six months of work stoppage, organisational dissolution or staff reduction, conviction or repeated breach of duties. When an organisation ends employment for organisational reasons, the framework provides assistance equal to one month’s salary after one year of service, two months after one to five years, four months after five to ten years and six months after more than ten years. Disputes may proceed from a Dispute Settlement Commission to a Central Commission and then to court, but practical access and enforcement remain fragmented. Foreign nationals use a separate work-permit procedure through MoLSA. The permit is valid for one year, records the workplace, job and start date, and has a fee whose current amount has not been verified. A tourist visa is not sufficient, and an additional entry visa from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be required. Domestic workers receive priority under the stated procedure. The labour market is dominated by informal and self-employed work. ILO modelling for 2026 estimates about 8.5 million people in employment, an employment-to-population ratio of 32.5% and female labour-force participation of 5.1%. Private salaried work represented about 12% of employed people aged 15 to 65 in 2023, compared with 5% in 2020. Employment growth remained below population growth, and women’s employment was still below one third of its 2020 level. Current restrictions sharply limit women’s access to government positions, NGO and UN work, management, beauty salons and many education and health pathways. Mobility requirements, mahram rules, gender segregation, clothing rules and checkpoint risks can affect whether a job is reachable. Since 7 September 2025, Afghan women staff and contractors have been barred from UN compounds, leading some organisations to use remote arrangements. Home-based work and women-owned micro, small and medium-sized enterprises remain significant alternatives, while young women, returnees, internally displaced people, women-headed households and rural workers face especially high access and income risks. Formal legal entitlements therefore do not guarantee equal access or reliable enforcement in practice.