Labor market in Guinea-Bissau

Most work in Guinea-Bissau takes place through own-account activity, family work, subsistence production, small trading and other informal arrangements. These activities often lack stable wages, regular social protection and reliable income records. In 2022, informal employment covered 93.5% of adults, 96.9% of women, 90% of men and 99.2% of young people. A modeled unemployment rate of 2.7% for 2025 therefore does not show that stable, adequately paid work is widely available. The rural-urban divide is substantial: Bissau is the main administrative and service center, while most other areas depend strongly on agriculture. The share of working people living in poverty was estimated at 60.0% in rural areas compared with 23.5% in urban areas. Current subnational labor-market data remain limited; older labor-inspection structures covered eight rural regions and the Bissau region. Agriculture is the main source of work. The cashew value chain, including cultivation, trading, transport and financial services, supports livelihoods for about 60% of the population. Subsistence rice and grain production, fishing, livestock and forestry also matter. Retail, hospitality, construction, agro-food processing, energy and water services provide additional opportunities. Cashew production was about 240,100 tonnes in 2024, compared with 250,000 tonnes in 2023, while the 2024 farm-gate price reached 560 CFA francs per kilogram compared with 200 CFA francs in 2023. Weather, export conditions, prices and fishing conditions make demand seasonal and volatile. Skills can be acquired through formal, non-formal and informal routes. INAFOR coordinates technical and vocational education, while work-placement training after basic education can last six to twelve months. Documented providers and pathways include SENAI-Brasil, CEFC Agriculture and Livestock, Ponte de Vida and ADPP. Traditional learning and on-the-job training remain common in the informal economy. Vocational provision is still underdeveloped, the National Qualifications Framework is being prepared, and recognition between learning routes and progression bridges remains limited. AGEFP supports employment services, vocational training and job matching. Its portal brings together vacancies, training and other work opportunities, but no nationwide digital matching system has been reliably documented. People also find work through family networks, informal contacts, local markets and self-employment. Formal vacancies are concentrated especially in public administration, trade and services, construction and agro-food. Women are strongly represented in unpaid or non-wage work, subsistence activity, small businesses and agriculture, while access to wage work, land, credit and formal training is more limited. Gender stereotypes and early school leaving add further barriers. Among young people, labor underutilization was 29.2%, 13.8% were not in employment, education or training, and 49.2% were inactive. Youth literacy was 69.0%, compared with 62.6% for young women and 75.3% for young men. Economic growth does not automatically create secure work. Real economic growth reached 4.8% in 2024, services grew by 4.2% and the secondary sector by 8%, with agro-food and construction expanding. At the same time, World Bank estimates reported labor-productivity growth of -6.8% for 2025, showing that job growth and productivity can move in opposite directions. The formal private sector remains small because of financing constraints, weak infrastructure, corruption and political instability. No reliable current national minimum-wage or median-wage series supports a general wage figure for Guinea-Bissau. Formal employment is covered by Lei n.º 7/2022, the Código do Trabalho, which entered into force on 19 July 2022. It regulates individual and collective labor matters and provides criminal and administrative liability rules. The responsible labor and social-protection authorities, the Inspector-General of Labour and employer and worker representatives contribute to formal oversight. Legal protection is much weaker in practice in the informal sector because inspection and enforcement do not reach all activities. Regional or international labor migration, especially to Senegal and also to Portugal and France, remains a practical alternative for some workers. Remittances were equivalent to 9.8% of gross domestic product in 2024, but migration can also remove skilled workers from the domestic labor market.