Unemployment in Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea has no documented nationwide unemployment-insurance scheme or standard unemployment allowance. B-READY 2025 records the availability and coverage of government unemployment insurance at zero. INSESO lists Protection al empleo and social services, but the available evidence does not establish a universal payment, fixed amount, entitlement, waiting period or duration for people without work. Social assistance for vulnerable people and families should therefore not be treated as a general unemployment benefit. The labour administration is described as Ministerio de Trabajo, Fomento de Empleo y Seguridad Social; current institutional listings also use Ministerio de Trabajo y Formación Ocupacional. The Oficina Central del Servicio Nacional de Empleo y Migraciones, abbreviated OCSNEM, plans and carries out employment programmes, studies unemployment and underemployment, classifies occupations, channels job offers and requests, and supports employment promotion. Provincial Delegaciones de Trabajo provide a local access point. Reliable evidence does not establish a universal online registration process, appointment system, fee schedule or equal capacity in every province. INSESO is the national social-security institution. Its functions include social-insurance affiliation, benefits and social services. The NUSS is the social-insurance identification number. Dependent employees generally need a written employment contract that is declared or registered with the Ministry before work begins. The employer handles registration, deregistration and contributions, and affiliation should take place no later than the eighth day after work starts. Self-employed workers, called autónomos, have their own affiliation and contribution duties; possible affiliation does not automatically create unemployment income protection. When employment ends, the worker should retain the written dismissal notice, proof that it was received, the final settlement and the work certificate. The available process directs relevant filings to the national, regional or provincial labour authority and places INSESO submissions in Malabo or Bata. The written notice should state the reason for dismissal. Under the baseline of Ley Núm. 4/2021 General de Trabajo, which entered into force on March 2, 2022, an indefinite contract generally requires a justified cause and prior opportunity for the worker to know and defend against it. Recognized causes include economic, technological, structural and productive reasons. Written preaviso means advance notice of termination. The 2021 baseline sets one week after one month of work and 20 days after six months. Antigüedad is the seniority-related payment connected to completed service. Under the 2021 baseline, it is calculated at 45 days of salary per year, proportionally, with payment or accounting from one year of service. The Ministry lists Ley Núm. 6/2026 dated April 10, 2026, as an amendment. Its complete official text and operative date were not verified in the available research; secondary summaries report 30 days per year for new or relevant cases and no retroactive effect. The applicable official text should therefore be checked for every calculation, especially during the transition. Current rules on remedies under Articles 114 and 116 also require verification. Dismissal disputes normally begin with conciliation through the Delegación de Trabajo. Conciliation is a prerequisite for court proceedings, and an agreed mediation outcome is binding. If no agreement is reached, the dispute can proceed to the Magistratura de Trabajo. Under the 2021 text, an unjustified dismissal can lead to reinstatement with back pay or compensation calculated at 45 days of salary per year when the worker is not reinstated. Economic or structural dismissal does not provide reinstatement in the same way, and the labour delegate determines the compensation. Collective reductions require consultation with worker representatives, Ministry authorization and priority for rehire. The labour-market figures show why unemployment can involve more than a temporary loss of a formal job. World Bank and ILO modeled unemployment is 8.3% for 2025, while the INEGE 2022 household survey is reported at 13.7–13.9%. The two figures use different methods and should not be compared as a trend. Labour-force participation was about 72% in 2022, vulnerable employment about 79%, and the share of young people not in employment, education or training about 24% in 2023. Women had a higher rate of vulnerable employment than men, reported at 89% compared with 72%. Self-employed and non-wage work represented 46.8%, private employment 32.7% and public employment 12.5% in the cited data. Rural self-employment reached 69.5%, while urban private employment reached 41.8%. The formal economy is limited: formal jobs were estimated at about 17%, and the formal private sector represented 12.6% of firms in the cited research. Hydrocarbon-dependent economic contraction, a shrinking formal private sector, skills mismatch, low job quality and access barriers affecting young people and women contribute to the employment problem. Unemployment duration, registration levels, benefit take-up and reliable provincial rates are not sufficiently established in the available evidence. Impulso Profesional GE is a targeted youth programme involving the Government or Ministry and UNDP. Its eligibility has covered Equatoguinean people aged 18 to 35 who are unemployed, have no more than two years of work experience and hold a secondary-school qualification plus the professional evidence required by the relevant call. The pilot used online registration, offers, applications, follow-up, training or internships and private-sector placement. In 2024–2025 it recorded about 5,000 registrations, 3,573 applications, 80 placements, 35 women and 45 men, with nine private partners. It is a targeted pilot rather than a general entitlement; a 2028 target refers to 2,500 young people, including 1,500 first-employment and 1,000 first-enterprise initiatives. Other ways to earn income include self-employment, cooperatives, family work, domestic service, piece-rate work and rural work. These are functional alternatives to having no income, not unemployment benefits, and they often involve low earnings or vulnerable conditions. Centres for vocational training exist in the institutional structure, but B-READY 2025 records no established universal public training-programme access for unemployed job seekers. When a new job begins, the new contract should be written and registered, and the worker should confirm INSESO affiliation within the applicable time limit while keeping the dismissal and settlement documents.