MBABANE -The addition of nearly 11 000 jobs between 2023 and 2025 may appear to be a positive development for Eswatini’s economy.
Yet, beneath the employment growth figures lies a growing concern among economists that the country’s labour market is expanding mainly through low-productivity service jobs rather than sectors capable of building long-term economic security.
Now, a 2025 Integrated Labour Force Survey has shown that the number of employed people increased from 260 356 in 2023 to 271 227 in 2025, representing a gain of 10 871 jobs.
While the increase has been viewed as a step towards addressing the country’s unemployment crisis, the survey reveals that the largest share of employment is concentrated in market services.
Currently, Eswatini’s overall unemployment rate stands at 33.5 per cent while youth unemployment is at 58 per cent.
According to the survey, market services accounted for 26.8 per cent of all employment, making it the country’s biggest employer.
Based on the total employed population of 271,227 people, this translates to approximately 72,689 workers.
These are more than 70 000 emaSwati employed across activities such as retail trade, transport, accommodation and food services.
The sector includes occupations such as shop assistants, cashiers, security guards, cleaners, customer service agents, debt collectors, bank tellers, bartenders, receptionists, public transport drivers, conductors, tour guides and game rangers.
Concentrated
According to local media reports on the labour force survey, much of Eswatini’s employment growth has been concentrated in traditional labour-intensive sectors rather than manufacturing and industry.
The manufacturing sector accounted for only 7.3 per cent of employment in 2025, showing no increase from 2023, while construction accounted for 6.2 per cent.
For economist Thembinkhosi Dube, the dominance of market services should not be interpreted as a sign of economic success.
Speaking on the latest employment figures, Dube described the trend as an indicator that Eswatini’s economy was struggling to create stable and productive employment.
“In a nutshell, it shows that the economy is not doing well,” Dube said.
He argued that an economy where market services become the largest employer often reflects a shortage of jobs that provide long-term economic security for workers.
Characterised
According to Dube, many jobs within retail trade, transport and hospitality are characterised by low wages, limited benefits and uncertainty around job security.
He said such employment opportunities often do not provide workers with the financial stability needed to access long-term assets such as vehicle finance, mortgages or business loans.
“These are not the type of jobs that allow people to build wealth or improve their standard of living,” he said.
Dube said many workers in such sectors were forced to survive from one income cycle to another, without meaningful opportunities to improve their economic position.
He described Eswatini’s current employment structure as a “shaky foundation economy”, arguing that the country was increasingly dependent on sectors that support consumption rather than production.
Contributing
The economist said the growing dominance of market services was also contributing to a situation where graduates were entering jobs with limited opportunities for professional growth.
He said instead of creating employment opportunities that utilise skills and qualifications, the economy was increasingly absorbing graduates into labour-intensive jobs.
The concerns come amid wider global discussions around developing economies shifting towards service-based employment before establishing strong productive sectors.
The economist referred to this trend as premature de-industrialisation, where countries move into services before developing strong manufacturing and industrial bases.
Historically, countries that achieved rapid economic growth moved large numbers of workers from agriculture into manufacturing before transitioning into higher-value service industries.
Agriculture provided employment and raw materials, while manufacturing created industrial capacity, exports and higher-paying jobs.
However, Eswatini’s employment structure shows a different pattern, with market services currently employing more people than agriculture and manufacturing combined.
The agricultural sector, however, remains a significant employer.
According to the 2025 Integrated Labour Force Survey, agriculture, forestry and fishing accounted for 24.5 per cent of employment, making it the second-largest employer aftermarket services.
This represents approximately 66 451 workers out of the country’s total employed population of 271 227. The figure reflects an increase from 2023, when agriculture accounted for 21.1 per cent of employment.
Based on the 2023 employed population of 260 356, this represented approximately 54 935 workers.
The increase means agriculture absorbed about 11 516 additional workers between the two survey periods.
Dube said government should place greater emphasis on agriculture as a source of stable employment and economic activity.
Investment
He argued that investment in commercial farming, irrigation infrastructure, mechanisation and agro-processing could create employment opportunities beyond primary production.
According to him, agriculture has the ability to generate jobs throughout the value chain, including transportation, packaging, processing and exports.
The challenge facing Eswatini, however, is that despite agriculture’s employment potential, the country continues to struggle with low production levels and heavy reliance on imported food.
According to local media reports, Eswatini loses more than E500 million every farming season importing maize and beans, with the annual food import bill exceeding E1 billion.
These figures emerged during the Eswatini Agriculture Teachers Association National Maize and Beans Schools Competition.
The National Maize Corporation revealed that the country requires approximately 142,673 metric tonnes of maize annually but produces only about 77,000 metric tonnes locally.
This creates a shortfall of more than 65 000 metric tonnes, costing the country approximately E394 million every season.
The situation is similar with beans, with the national demand standing at about 7 000 metric tonnes annually, while local production remains slightly above 1 000 metric tonnes.
The resulting deficit costs the country approximately E143 million in imports.
Combined, the maize and bean shortages result in more than E537 million leaving the economy every farming season.
Importing
Agricultural stakeholders have raised concerns that Eswatini is importing food products that could potentially be produced locally while local farmers continue facing barriers to expansion.
Challenges affecting the sector include limited mechanisation, inadequate irrigation infrastructure, high production costs, weak market systems and difficulties accessing reliable support services.
Further, recent reports that beans worth about E9 million were allegedly deteriorating in storage facilities due to procurement delays and regulatory challenges further raised concerns among farmers.
Farmers warned that such incidents could weaken confidence among producers and discourage future investment in agriculture.
Meanwhile, agricultural stakeholders have called for stronger support systems to move farmers from subsistence production into commercially viable enterprises.
They have argued that improved access to machinery, finance, irrigation and reliable markets would enable more farmers to increase production and participate in the formal economy.
Contrasts
The agricultural employment challenge in Eswatini contrasts with many other Sub-Saharan African economies where farming remains the largest employer.
In a number of countries south of Africa, the agricultural sector continues to provide livelihoods for the majority of workers in several African countries, particularly those with large rural populations.
Burundi, for example, has approximately 85 per cent of its workforce employed in agriculture, while Burkina Faso relies on the sector for about 74 per cent of employment.
Additionally, countries such as Niger, Mozambique, Madagascar and the Central African Republic (CAR) also have agricultural sectors employing around 70 per cent or more of their labour forces.
In terms of absolute numbers, Ethiopia and Nigeria employ tens of millions of people in agriculture.
The comparison highlights different employment structures across the continent, with some economies still relying heavily on agriculture as a major source of livelihoods.
In Eswatini, the latest labour force figures show that while employment increased by 10 871 jobs between 2023 and 2025, with the largest share of workers concentrated in market services.
The sector employs approximately 72,689 people, compared to about 66,451 employed in agriculture and 19,800 in manufacturing.
These are the very same figures which have ignited a debate around the type of jobs being created and the role of productive sectors in expanding employment opportunities.
Economist Thembinkhosi Dube has urged government to invest heavily within the agricultural sector which has the potential to create stable jobs and become the largest employer of emaSwati. Dube’s comment follows the 2025 Intergrated Labour Force Survey which showed that the agricultural sector was behind the service market in terms of creating job opportunities, yet it remains unstable with low wages. (Pic: Khaya Simelane)