Unemployment in Fiji

The Fiji Bureau of Statistics measures unemployment through the Employment and Unemployment Survey. Under its definition, a person aged 15 or older is unemployed when they had no work during the seven-day reference period, were available for work and were seeking work. The 2023–24 survey, published in February 2026, recorded 18,073 unemployed people and an unemployment rate of 5.7% among a working-age population of 614,832 and a labour force of 314,898. The rate was 4.9% for men and 7.4% for women. Among people aged 15 to 24, the rate was 18.3%, with 15.8% for men and 22.7% for women. For people aged 15 to 35, it was 10.1%, including 13.0% for women. The survey recorded 29,056 people aged 15 to 24 who were not in employment, education or training, equal to 23.7%. Regional figures were 9,955 unemployed people in the Central Division, 6,408 in the Western Division, 1,392 in the Northern Division and 318 in the Eastern Division. The survey covered 6,000 households and 600 enumeration areas across all four divisions and maritime areas over 12 months. Its results use the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians standards and are not directly comparable with the 2015–16 survey. The Fiji Bureau of Statistics notes that outmigration and subsistence activity may contribute to undercounting in the Northern and Eastern divisions. The National Employment Centre, operated by the Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations, provides the main formal employment service for unemployed people in Fiji. A person aged 15 or older who becomes unemployed or works part-time must register with the Centre and report a change of status within seven days. A breach can attract a fine of up to FJD 500. An employer may hire a person before that person completes registration. The NEC Local Employment Registration System has operated since 1 February 2026. A planned vacancy-posting function has been announced, but its live availability is not established by the reviewed evidence. The reviewed official sources do not establish a NEC registration fee. NEC support can include counselling, human-resources and aptitude assessment, job referrals and formal employment services. Formal services may provide life skills, employment skills and workplace attachment. Self-employment services may include entrepreneurship support, business attachment, an incubator and seed funding subject to criteria and available resources. Fiji Volunteer Service and Foreign Employment Service provide additional pathways. In supported on-the-job training, registered participants receive 50% of the weekly allowance and the employer pays the other 50%. Employers with more than 50 workers are required to provide at least 5% of places for attachés or volunteers under the relevant programme. These services support re-entry into work; training is treated here as an employment pathway rather than as a separate continuing-education subject. Fiji does not have an established general state replacement wage or ongoing unemployment insurance in the reviewed official sources. The COVID-19 unemployment cash transfer has ended, while the Ministry of Finance has documented a reform plan for a possible future unemployment-benefit system. Eligible Fiji National Provident Fund members can instead apply for Unemployment Assistance from their General Account after circumstances such as lay-off, non-renewal of a contract, a disciplinary tribunal decision, redundancy, resignation, seasonal work or termination. The member must have at least FJD 135 in the General Account. The withdrawal is at least FJD 100 and at most FJD 2,000, with FJD 35 retained for the SDB premium, and it can be made once in a 12-month period. The payment uses the member's retirement savings and is not a general unemployment benefit. The FNPF normally requires employer evidence within one year of the employment ending. If unemployment continues beyond one year, that employer evidence is no longer required. Copies of supporting documents may be certified by an FNPF officer, Justice of the Peace or Commissioner for Oaths. Applications can be made through the myFNPF application, by email or at an FNPF office. Payment is made as a one-time amount through bank transfer or M-Paisa. A withdrawal reduces the member's retirement savings, so it should be compared with immediate living costs and other available support. A qualifying redundancy can also create a separate employment-termination payment. Under section 108 of the Employment Relations Act 2007, an economic, technological, structural or similar termination can attract at least one week's pay for each completed year of service after at least one year of service, in addition to other amounts owed under the employment relationship. The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service treats redundancy payments up to FJD 15,000 as tax-exempt; any excess is treated as employment income for tax purposes. After unemployment, the NEC can support job matching, workplace attachment, self-employment or foreign employment. Recruitment for PALM or RSE work must go through the NEC or Labour Sending Unit, or through an agency authorised by the Ministry. A recruiter who is not authorised should not receive an advance payment. Reporting a status change to the NEC within seven days is also relevant when employment begins, because the person may then disengage from NEC services. NEC assistance does not guarantee a job or a particular payment period. Access can be harder in rural and maritime areas, and unemployment has a high practical relevance for young people, women and communities in the Central and Western divisions.