Unemployment in Yemen

Reliable current survey data are limited because conflict restricts data collection and divides institutions, services, currency and access. A World Bank and International Labour Organization modeled series estimates unemployment at 17.3% of the labour force in 2025; this is a model value, not a new national labour-force survey. The last comprehensive Labour Force Survey, conducted in 2013–14 by the International Labour Organization and Yemen's Central Statistical Organization, recorded 13.5% unemployment, including 24.5% among people aged 15–24, 26.1% among women and 12.3% among men. Labour-force participation was 36.3% overall and 6.0% for women, while informal employment accounted for 73.2% of employment. Conflict, economic contraction, displacement, interrupted public-sector salaries, damaged infrastructure, shortages of liquidity and currency division, and climate shocks can cause job loss or reduce work to irregular day labour and underemployment. Agriculture still involved more than half of the workforce in 2026, so unemployment often overlaps with fragile household livelihoods rather than a complete absence of economic activity. Yemen has no evidence-based, practically functioning nationwide claim pathway for unemployment insurance or unemployment assistance. Social Security Law No. 13 of 2013 provides insurance for work injury and for old age, disability and death; it does not establish a verified nationwide unemployment-payment delivery system. The constitutional goal of social protection during unemployment therefore does not by itself create a payment claim. Registration with a labour office is also not a benefit application and does not guarantee a job. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour has legal functions covering jobseeker registration, vacancy matching, employer vacancies and labour-market information. In internationally recognized government areas, labour offices and an Aden-based digital labour platform may offer registration for jobseekers, job searches and a jobseeker registration certificate called شهادة القيد باحث عن عمل. The platform's reach and operation are not verified as nationwide, and access in Houthi-controlled or contested areas can differ. Published registration requirements may include proof of a wish to work, a copy of an identity document, qualification copies, experience certificates, photographs and, for a specific placement, a health certificate. Published registration is free, but processing times are not standardized. Households without work may qualify for poverty- or vulnerability-targeted assistance rather than support based on unemployment status. The Social Welfare Fund, صندوق الرعاية الاجتماعية, has had its national cash-transfer program suspended. UNICEF and World Bank-supported unconditional cash-transfer and emergency-cash programs have operated since 2017 through the Social Fund for Development, using the former Social Welfare Fund register and beneficiary verification. In the 2024 cycle, more than 1.43 million families, representing about 9.2 million people, were reported to receive approximately US$62.5 million in total assistance, with a 50% increase in the base benefit. Eligibility, payment sites, mobile payments and outreach depend on identity verification, beneficiary lists and local access; there is no automatic payment for a person who has recently lost work, no job-search duty and no single nationwide benefit amount or duration. Temporary employment and livelihood programs can provide short-term income or support for re-entry. The Emergency Social Protection Enhancement and COVID-19 Response Project runs until December 2026 and combines cash transfers with temporary employment and support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and livelihoods. Reported participation includes 124,905 people receiving work and wages, including 20% women and 15% internally displaced people. Such programs depend on the project, governorate, implementing organization, funding and selection criteria. Apprenticeships, toolkits, business training, agriculture, fishing, value-chain projects and self-employment may also be available in selected areas, but participation does not create permanent employment. Where formal services are inaccessible, people may use daily labour, small trade, farming, fishing, remittances, zakat, charity, NGO cash or food assistance, savings and loans. These arrangements are mainly informal and their legal protection, income and continuity vary. Women, young people, internally displaced people, people with disabilities, female-headed households and Muhamasheen can face additional access barriers. Keep identity documents, contact details, qualifications, experience records and beneficiary or payment-card evidence available, and verify the responsible labour office or aid provider before paying anyone. Unofficial recruitment charges and scams are risks because legitimate published labour-office registration is free.