Unemployment in Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau has no direct nationwide system that replaces income after job loss. Under Lei n.º 4/2007, the Instituto Nacional de Segurança Social (INSS) covers sickness, maternity, workplace accidents, disability, old age, death and family responsibilities, but unemployment is not listed as a current benefit. The law allows a future subsídio de desemprego for people with long contribution histories, yet no implementing regulation or established application process for that benefit was evidenced. Existing INSS rights therefore do not automatically provide unemployment income. People without work commonly rely on informal activities, subsistence production, household or community support, religious assistance and occasional targeted programs. Food aid, basic social protection and disability assistance depend on the group and program concerned; they do not create an automatic entitlement based on job loss. More than 95% of employment is estimated to be informal, and informal work often produces limited contribution records and weak proof of previous employment. Agriculture accounted for 62.7% of all jobs in 2022. The employment-to-population ratio was 63.1% in 2022, while the modeled unemployment rate was 2.7% in 2025. These figures should not be read as proof that most people have stable paid work. Young people face a particularly informal labor market: approximately 99% of employed young people were estimated to work informally. In 2022, 17.0% of people aged 15 to 29 were not in employment, education or training. Among this group, 90.6% were inactive rather than actively seeking work, while 9.4% were actively looking for work. A low recorded unemployment rate can therefore coexist with people who have stopped searching or depend on irregular activities. For job matching and return to work, the Agência de Emprego e Formação Profissional (AGEFP) is the main public employment service. It was established in 2021, operates under the authority of the ministry responsible for labor and has national responsibilities. Its functions include job information and placement, vocational guidance, qualification and requalification, vocational rehabilitation, entrepreneurship and inclusion. AGEFP has its headquarters in Bissau, delegations in Bissorã, Gabú and Catió, and service counters in other locations. UFE/CIFAP Bula, CENFI/CIFAP Bissau, Quelelé and Bissorã are additional access points for employment or training-related services. The AGEFP office in Bissau is listed at Avenida Domingos Ramos with the public contact agefp2021@gmail.com. Its website lists Monday to Friday opening hours from 09:00 to 16:00, but local opening times, fees and required documents should be confirmed with the specific office. No uniform registration deadline or fee for jobseekers was evidenced. A jobseeker can ask AGEFP for vacancies, vocational guidance, training or entrepreneurship support. A person working informally or independently can also ask about support for self-employment, a micro-enterprise or a craft activity. Formal employees have a different legal position. Employers should register employees with INSS and maintain contracts, wage records and contribution evidence. When a formal employment relationship ends, the employer may owe documents, unpaid remuneration or compensation depending on the reason for termination. The applicable framework is the Código do Trabalho, Lei n.º 7/2022, which entered into force on 19 July 2022 and replaced Lei n.º 2/1986. It primarily regulates formal employer-employee relationships. Disputes can be taken through the Inspeção do Trabalho or the labor court, and deadlines depend on the type of termination. After job loss, the main ways back into work are AGEFP job matching, vocational training or requalification, self-employment, micro-enterprise activity and craft work. Returning to formal employment should normally lead the new employer to register the employee again with INSS. Support and access can differ by age, gender, disability, urban or rural setting and the availability of local services. A low national unemployment figure does not remove the need to check income security, documentary proof, access to services and the practical reliability of the proposed work.