Labor market in Seychelles

The Employment Department of the Ministry of Employment and Human Resource Planning leads labor-market policy, job matching, labor relations, labor migration, workplace inspection, Gainful Occupation Permit clearance and localization measures. The National Bureau of Statistics, or NBS, produces labor-force, formal-employment and earnings statistics. Immigration and Civil Status issues Gainful Occupation Permits, while the Seychelles Qualifications Authority manages the Seychelles National Qualifications Framework, recognition of qualifications and Recognition of Prior Learning. The Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development supports Professional Centres and technical and vocational education and training. Registered Private Employment Agencies provide additional recruitment services, and the Employment Tribunal handles unresolved employment disputes. The latest supplied NBS National Statistics Data Portal figure puts unemployment at 3.3% in the first quarter of 2026. Annual unemployment was 3% in 2023, while youth unemployment was 9.5%. Formal employment stood at about 54,930 in the fourth quarter of 2023, and average gross earnings across all sectors were SCR 16,710 in that quarter. These figures are not directly interchangeable: labor-force surveys, administrative jobseeker and vacancy records, and formal-employment data measure different groups. Recent private-sector and local-expatriate earnings comparisons also have gaps linked to Seychelles Revenue Commission data problems. Tourism is the backbone of demand. Construction, manufacturing, fisheries, agriculture, wholesale and retail, financial services, ICT, public institutions and parastatal organizations are other major areas. Preliminary 2025 figures show real GDP growth of 5.1% and visitor arrivals growth of 13.1%, with especially strong activity in tourism, construction, manufacturing and ICT. Agriculture contracted by about 10%, while fisheries grew by about 2%. Tourism, construction and ICT are expected to remain leading sectors, but dependence on visitors exposes employment to travel disruptions, geopolitical events and sudden reductions in demand. Mahé concentrates economic activity and public administration. Employment outstations at Grand Anse on Praslin and La Passe on La Digue provide job matching, labor-law compliance support, complaint handling and assistance with Gainful Occupation Permits and migrant-worker welfare. No separate island wage or minimum-wage system is evidenced. Current island-specific labor-market series are not robust enough to support reliable unemployment or earnings comparisons. The national minimum wage from 1 April 2025 is SCR 40.95 per hour, or SCR 6,210.75 per month for a 35-hour week. The casual-worker rate is SCR 47.19 per hour, and the rule applies regardless of nationality. Eligible workers receive a full 13th-month salary from 2025, with payment in January 2026; the detailed operation of that entitlement should be checked against the current implementing rules. Average gross earnings are not the same as the minimum wage. Employment law also covers working time, leave, overtime, public holidays, occupational safety, inspections, unions, collective bargaining and equal treatment. Migrant workers generally receive the same employment conditions, although the Seychelles International Trade Zone has a separate framework. A workplace grievance can move from the Industrial Relations Section to mediation and then to the Employment Tribunal after a certificate of failed mediation. Tribunal registration costs SCR 200, and a claim normally has to be registered within 30 days after mediation. Possible remedies include benefits, compensation, costs, fines and other orders. The maximum fine is SCR 40,000 and the maximum imprisonment term is two years. Jobseekers can register with Employment Services or a registered Private Employment Agency. Employment Services generally accepts people aged 15 to 62 and may request an identity document, CV, certificates, references, a Police Character Certificate or a licence, depending on the vacancy. Vacancies appear through the weekly list in Seychelles Nation, employer and agency notices, referrals and direct applications. The Labor Market Information System records vacancies, jobseekers, placements, redundancies and industrial-relations matters. A September 2024 dashboard recorded 1,623 Employment Services jobseekers, 2,036 vacancies, 917 placements, 273 Private Employment Agency vacancies, 960 Certificate-of-Entitlement vacancies, 109 redundancies and 275 grievances. It also recorded 496 My First Job graduate placements; these administrative figures use mixed reporting dates and should not be treated as a current unemployment rate. Private Employment Agencies charge employers directly according to the supplied Department information. The Seychelles National Qualifications Framework has 10 levels covering general education, technical and vocational education and training, and tertiary education. Certificates, diplomas and degrees can be registered nationally. The Seychelles Qualifications Authority checks provider quality, recognizes providers and foreign qualifications, and supports Recognition of Prior Learning. Recognition of Prior Learning can cover formal, non-formal and informal learning at all framework levels when the applicant has at least three years of experience in the field. Professional Centres and technical and vocational education can lead to direct employment, My First Job, the Skills Development Programme or higher education. My First Job supports graduates from Professional Centres. The employer pays the normal salary and the Government refunds 40% for one year, up to SCR 7,000 per month. The Skills Development Programme supports unskilled young people through on-the-job training lasting 6 to 18 months, with eligibility and intake rules changing in 2026. The programme has included school dropouts, single parents and people who did not complete a Professional Centre pathway, and it provides a certificate on completion. The 2026 reforms focus on ages 15 to 20, larger intake, micro-credentials through Recognition of Prior Learning and priority-sector alignment. The reintroduced Unemployment Relief Scheme supports 250 participants per year through a six-month placement, with possible extension. Its full-time allowance is SCR 6,388.20 per month, funded 70% by the Government at SCR 4,471.74 and 30% by the employer at SCR 1,916.46. Part-time participation is limited to 24 hours per week and is paid according to the minimum-wage hourly rate. The scheme is administered by the Employment Promotion Division and is intended as a bridge to permanent work, not as regular unemployment insurance. Non-Seychellois workers normally need a prospective employer to obtain access to employment. Exceptions can apply to shareholders, directors, owners and certain self-employed people. The usual process includes a local vacancy advertisement, evidence that no suitable local candidate is available, an Employment Department application and supporting documents. A complete application can receive an approval notification within 3 to 9 working days before Immigration and Civil Status issues the Gainful Occupation Permit. The worker may work only in the approved post and for the approved employer under a fixed-term contract. After one month, the employer must provide an attestation with a copy of the permit. The attestation fee is SCR 750 per person. An employer can face a SCR 20,000 fine for breaching the contract or permit, while other unlawful employment can attract a SCR 40,000 fine. Late renewal carries a surcharge of SCR 400 per day, and expiry or revocation can lead to prohibited-immigrant and repatriation consequences. Cabinet approved revised migration procedures on 23 April 2026. Farming, fisheries and Government projects can receive priority processing within seven working days without advertising. Tourism applications have a 14-day processing period; renewals do not require advertising, while new posts do. Other sectors continue to use standard advertising. An employer change within a similar field can be possible when the required documents and agreement are provided. The Tourism Human Resource Development Strategy 2026–2029 combines continued access to foreign labor with priority for attracting, developing, retaining and promoting Seychellois workers through career paths, leadership development, succession planning and coordination between education, industry and training. Localization has replaced 81 foreign management and supervisory posts, especially in tourism, with Seychellois workers during 2021–2023. This policy builds a national skills pipeline rather than imposing a blanket exclusion of foreign workers. Current demand areas include tourism services, construction, fisheries and the blue economy, agriculture and food security, ICT and digital work, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, renewable energy and infrastructure. Other persistent concerns include informal employment, estimated at about 8,000 people in the 2025 Budget and 8,204 people or 16.9% of the labor force in a 2020 NBS and policy estimate. That estimate should not be treated as a current prevalence figure; the cited breakdown was 74% men and 26% women. Skills mismatch, youth transition, employer preference for foreign workers and barriers affecting people with disabilities or people recovering from drug use also influence access. National Human Resource planning and current policy reviews therefore matter alongside vacancy numbers and wage data.