The labor market describes how people offer their work, how companies and institutions create demand, and how jobs, pay, qualifications and opportunities differ across Madagascar. In 2021–2022, labor-force participation was 58.8% and employment among the working-age population was 54.9%. Participation was 66.9% for men and 51.2% for women. Adult labor underutilization, a broader measure that includes insufficient use of available labor, was 10.4% among people aged 25 and over. Youth informal employment reached 98.9%. These figures show why the unemployment rate alone gives an incomplete picture: many people work with low productivity, irregular earnings or too few hours. Agriculture provides about 60.7% of jobs, the secondary sector 14.7% and services 24.6%. In rural areas, agriculture accounts for approximately 70% of employment. Growth opportunities are concentrated in agribusiness, vanilla and livestock value chains, textiles and light manufacturing, tourism, digital services, mining, energy and construction. Climate shocks, power outages, weak infrastructure and political instability can reduce both employment and productivity. Regional differences are substantial. Agriculture accounts for 84.9% of employment in Bongolava, 82.8% in Itasy, 76.9% in Melaky, 76.1% in Sofia, 71.4% in SAVA and 70.8% in Vakinankaratra. Analamanga has a more diversified structure, with 40.7% of employment in the primary sector, 21.5% in the secondary sector and 37.8% in services. Betsiboka has an unusually large secondary sector at about 57%, while Vatovavy has approximately 40.8% in the primary sector and 42.7% in the secondary sector. The regional mix affects access to employers, training providers, transport, electricity and public services. Technical and vocational education and training, known locally as ETFP, connects qualifications with employment. Available pathways include the Certificat de Fin d'Apprentissage (CFA), Certificat d'Aptitude Professionnelle (CAP), Brevet d'Apprentissage Élémentaire (BAE), Brevet d'Études Professionnelles (BEP), Brevet de Technicien (BT), Baccalauréat Professionnel, Baccalauréat Technique, Brevet de Technicien Supérieur (BTS) and Validation des Acquis de l'Expérience (VAE), which recognizes relevant work experience. Initial ETFP can begin after primary or lower-secondary education. A Baccalauréat Technique generally lasts three years and a BTS two years. Public and private providers may operate when they hold State recognition. The Ministry responsible for technical and vocational training maps providers by region. The Fonds Malgache de Formation Professionnelle, or FMFP, has trained more than 70,000 employees since 2019, including 49% women, across all 23 regions. ProAgro YOUTH combines rural training, business development and placement in agribusiness. Skills mismatch remains a documented problem. Pay differs by sector, location, enterprise and work arrangement. From 1 March 2026, the statutory floor for private SMEs is Ar 300,000 per month in non-agricultural work and Ar 304,300 in agricultural work. The floor is category-based and can be revised by decree after consultation with the Conseil National du Travail et de l'Emploi. Piecework, output-based pay and target-based pay may not fall below the comparable time-wage floor. The Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance Sociale (CNaPS), Madagascar's social security fund, uses contributory ceilings of Ar 2,400,000 and Ar 2,434,400 for the relevant categories. Formal private employment can provide family benefits, occupational-injury protection and a pension through CNaPS, but informal work limits practical coverage and enforcement. Enterprise income is not the same as an employee's wage. In the EPM 2021–2022 household and employment survey, median income for non-agricultural enterprises was Ar 960,000. The median was Ar 1,140,000 in urban areas and Ar 600,000 in rural areas. Enterprises headed by men had median income of Ar 840,000, compared with Ar 576,000 for enterprises headed by women. These figures describe enterprise income rather than a guaranteed monthly salary. The Institut National de la Statistique (INSTAT) produces key labor-market evidence, including the EPM survey. The Observatoire National de l'Emploi et de la Formation (ONEF) provides official matching between vacancies and applicants and directs users toward market-relevant ETFP. Regional employment services of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Public Service and Social Laws (MTEFPLS) provide another public channel. Other routes include direct contact with employers, personal networks and private online portals. The online Ministry portal can be used to request diploma equivalence, including for foreign qualifications. A nationwide unemployment-benefit equivalent is not established in the available labor-market evidence, so job matching, training and formal employment channels should not be treated as income protection. Economic growth does not automatically create enough jobs. GDP growth was about 4.2% in 2024, which was insufficient for major job creation. The highest-paying 25% of firms paid up to seven times as much as the lowest-paying 25%. Only 8% of firms reported access to bank credit, 52% faced power outages and 30% reported an inadequately educated workforce. Current reform priorities include start-ups and SMEs, entrepreneurship, worker training, energy, mining and digital activity. ILO HIMO and DEFIS programs in Atsimo Atsinanana, Amoron'i Mania and Haute Matsiatra had produced 625 direct jobs and 19,000 person-days of work by December 2024; 52% of the participants were women and 56% were young people. Migration is a smaller part of the national labor market than informal domestic employment. Madagascar's inward migrant stock was about 39,000 people in 2024, or 0.1% of the population. Outward labor migration involves contract approval, security checks and consular pre-registration; 1,817 emigrant workers were pre-registered in 2022, and the stated procedure takes no more than 15 days across three ministries. Bilateral labor arrangements exist with Mauritius and Comoros. Dispatch to certain high-risk countries, including Gulf destinations, remains suspended or restricted in the documented system. Madagascar's 2024 Labour Code includes migration provisions, while a gender-sensitive national labor-migration policy is under study. Internal movement between rural and urban areas also matters because climate pressure and regional differences change access to work. The main practical distinction is between having work and having stable, productive and protected work. A realistic assessment should compare the local sector mix, required qualification, expected pay, formality of the contract, social-security coverage, transport and electricity conditions, and the reliability of the employer or intermediary.
Labor market in Madagascar
Madagascar's labor market is dominated by informal work, agriculture and large differences between regions, qualifications and earnings. About 95% of adult employment is informal, while the international unemployment rate is 6.6%, so low unemployment does not mean secure or productive work. Access to jobs and training depends strongly on location, skills, infrastructure and contact with employers or public employment services.
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