Unemployment in Solomon Islands

Official unemployment figures in Solomon Islands need careful interpretation. The 2019 Census measured the working-age population from age 12 and recorded 258,383 employed people and 22,127 unemployed people in a labour force of 280,510. The figures included 11,934 unemployed men and 10,193 unemployed women, with 9,541 unemployed people in urban areas and 12,586 in rural areas. The highest recorded provincial rate was in Honiara at 13.5%; Temotu recorded 9.1%, while urban Choiseul recorded 18.67%. Unemployment was highest among people aged 15 to 19 at 15.2%, followed by 14.5% among those aged 15 to 24 and 11.1% among those aged 15 to 34. The standard rate does not fully show the need for cash or formal employment. Employed people included paid and unpaid work: 55.4% of employment was unpaid and 44.6% was paid. Agriculture, forestry and fishing accounted for 68.4% of all employment, and 87% of that work was rural. An expanded measure that also counted people available for work but not actively seeking it produced much higher results; the research records 21.6% for Honiara and says provincial rates at least doubled. The latest national official figures identified are from the 2019 Census. ILOSTAT identifies the 2013 Household Income and Expenditure Survey as the latest household survey in its data, and the National Statistics Office has recommended a Labour Force Survey for better labour-market information. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Labour and Immigration, through its Labour Division and Commissioner of Labour, provides job-placement services, promotes employment of Solomon Islanders, supports localisation and manpower planning, conducts trade training and testing, and enforces labour law. Public sources reviewed for Solomon Islands did not show a national unemployment registration system or a published unemployment benefit with defined eligibility, payment amount or duration. Job-placement costs and service timing were also not published. Formal workers contribute 5% of wages to the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund, known as SINPF, while employers contribute 7.5%. Informal workers can use the voluntary youSave savings scheme, but savings are not a continuing unemployment-insurance payment. A draft National Employment Policy validated through stakeholder consultation in 2025 includes job creation, labour-market information and social protection, but its final adoption was not established. A 2026 ILO, UNDP and UNICEF diagnostic still described a national social-protection floor as a development and policy-dialogue issue. Job loss caused by redundancy follows separate rules from a general period without work. Under section 2 of the Employment Act, Cap. 72, a worker generally needs at least 26 weeks of continuous employment for the statutory redundancy entitlement. The calculation uses the prescribed PE factor multiplied by one twenty-sixth of the basic weekly wage, subject to a maximum of 65 times the basic weekly wage. An employer must notify the Commissioner of Labour of an intended redundancy at least 28 days before dismissal. A claim or referral to the Trade Disputes Panel is generally subject to a two-year period, with exclusions that can apply to fixed-term workers and non-citizens. The Labour Division and Trade Disputes Panel can deal with unfair dismissal, redundancy, wage disputes and contract disputes. SINPF withdrawal after unfair dismissal requires a Panel decision finding the dismissal unfair. Redundancy-related withdrawal requires evidence of the redundancy and no paid employment for three months, and it releases the worker's own accumulated savings rather than providing an ongoing insurance payment. Re-entry after unemployment can therefore involve Labour Division job placement, a labour complaint where employment rights were breached, and an assessment of the applicable SINPF or youSave rules.