Unemployment in Djibouti

The EDST 2025 Labour Force Survey was Djibouti's first nationally representative Labour Force Survey. It reported a 46.2% NEET rate among people aged 16 to 24. NEET describes people who are not in employment, education or training. Inactivity reached 65.1% outside Djibouti City compared with 47.4% in the capital. Informal work represented 52.7% of employment, and approximately 78% of private-sector jobs were informal. A World Bank and ILO modelled estimate of 26.0% unemployment for 2025 used a different method and cannot be compared directly with the EDST result. Djibouti's unemployment system is fragmented. The Ministry of Labour responsible for formalisation and social protection, ANEFIP, the Labour Inspectorate, CNSS, MASS, ADDS and INSTAD perform different functions. ANEFIP provides employment information, job matching, career guidance, training, retraining, entrepreneurship support and public-interest work through communal and regional offices. Its Contrat d'Insertion Professionnelle places 150 jobseekers in company immersion, with a focus on young people and possible transition into recruitment. It is not a cash benefit. Registration conditions, processing times and applicant fees are not reliably established for all ANEFIP services. No general unemployment insurance, universal unemployment allowance, standard benefit amount, contribution method, waiting period, payment duration, job-search requirement or appeal process is documented through 2026. CNSS covers old age, invalidity and survivors, sickness and maternity, work accidents and family benefits, but not a general unemployment branch. Registration with ANEFIP therefore does not prove an entitlement to regular unemployment income. Targeted support can provide a functional alternative when unemployment causes hardship. ADDS and MASS use the social registry for means-tested PNSF cash transfers, food or voucher support, PASS health assistance and, in some areas, temporary community work. Access depends on poverty or vulnerability, programme rules and geographic coverage rather than unemployment registration alone. From 2025, PIRC combines targeted transfers with income and economic opportunities in Ali Addeh, Holl Holl, Obock and Dikhil, particularly for refugees and host communities. These programmes do not create a universal unemployment payment. A temporary suspension for economic or technical reasons, called chômage technique, differs from ordinary unemployment. Under Article 41(18) of the Labour Code, the employer must notify the Labour Inspectorate in writing. The suspension can last up to three months and can be extended once. Article 42 generally excludes employer wages during the suspension. At the end, the employer must resume employment or terminate the employment relationship and notify the relevant authority immediately. Economic dismissal also involves specific safeguards. The employer must notify the Labour Inspectorate beforehand and provide at least eight days' notice, or 21 days when more than ten dismissals are involved. The decision must be written, and the worker has a one-year priority for re-employment. During the notice period, the worker has one paid job-search day per week. Address changes should be reported, and a worker should return within eight days when a vacancy is offered under the applicable priority. Private employment agencies may operate with state authorisation. They may not charge jobseekers direct or indirect fees. The employer bears the cost, subject to recorded limits of up to 10% of net monthly pay for recruitment and 15% for temporary placement. A jobseeker should verify who is charging, which service is provided and whether the agency is authorised before signing or paying anything.