Unemployment in Madagascar is shaped by a large informal economy and widespread low-productivity work. Agriculture provides about 60.7% of jobs, informal employment accounts for about 95.0% of adult employment, and youth informal employment is about 98.9% in the cited 2022 data. The World Bank modeled ILO estimate places unemployment at 3.0% in 2025, while the INSTAT EPM 2021–22 survey recorded 9.0% in urban areas and 3.0% in rural areas. These figures use different methods and age groups and should not be compared as identical measures. INSTAT also recorded composite labor underutilization of 20.3% in urban areas and 25.7% in rural areas, with higher rates among women and younger workers. A person may therefore have work but still lack sufficient hours, stable income or adequate productivity. Law 2024-014, the current Labour Code, assigns national policy responsibility for unemployment and underemployment to the ministry responsible for Labour and Employment. No statutory unemployment benefit, payment amount, national waiting period or benefit application process was identified. CNaPS, the national social protection fund, covers areas such as work injury, old age, disability, survivors and family benefits, but the cited branches do not cover unemployment. When unemployment follows an economic dismissal or business closure, keep the written dismissal notice, final salary records, unused-leave calculation, notice payment, severance calculation and certificat de travail. For an economic dismissal, the employer must consult the comité d’entreprise or employee delegates, and the Inspectorat du travail must be involved. The inspector's opinion can take up to 15 working days. Unpaid salary, notice or severance claims generally have a 12-month prescription period; claims can proceed through the Inspectorat and then the Tribunal du travail where necessary. Economic-dismissal severance is generally 10 days of salary for each complete year of service, capped at six months of salary, and is separate from notice, unused leave and damages. Chômage technique is a temporary collective interruption caused by technical, economic or accidental circumstances. The employer must declare it in advance to the territorial Inspectorat du travail and inform CNaPS, stating the reason, duration and affected employees. It can last up to six months; a worker may end the contract without notice after three months, and a disagreement with the inspector's opinion must be raised within three working days. If reintegration has not occurred after six months, the contract ends with the applicable notice and severance rights, although a crisis-related ministerial extension can add up to six months. The social fallback is fragmented rather than a universal unemployment payment. The Fonds de solidarité pour le développement, or FSR, targets poverty and vulnerability. Programmes such as TMDH/Vatsin’Ankohonana, Fiavota, Asa Avotra Mirindra, Mijoro, Milofo and HIMO or Argent contre travail provide different forms of household support, productive safety nets, urban assistance, crisis transfers or paid public works. The Ministry of Population and Solidarity coordinates these measures, while FID implements many programmes with World Bank support. Access depends on programme rules, priority areas and household vulnerability. The Rejistra Sosialy, or RSU, is a dynamic social register for household targeting, not an unemployment register, and its coverage is being expanded toward all households by 2030. The State employment service is provided through the ministry responsible for Labour and Employment, with local and regional offices intended to extend coverage. The available evidence does not establish a complete nationwide registration process, waiting-time standard or case-management portal. ONEF, the National Employment Observatory, was legally created for labour-market information, but its organisation and functions require implementing rules. An accredited private employment agency may match job offers and applicants, provide job information and recruit or place workers. Its service to a jobseeker must be free, and agencies may not charge the applicant a placement fee. Regional availability and actual service quality should be checked before relying on a particular office or provider.
Unemployment in Madagascar
Madagascar has no direct national unemployment-insurance or unemployment-allowance scheme identified. Open unemployment was estimated at 3.0% in 2025, but informal work, underemployment and low productivity mean that this figure does not capture all work insecurity. Support may come from final employment payments, public or private job services, targeted social safety nets and household coping.
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