Minister: 2.5 million unemployed in Sudan

There are currently 2.5 million people unemployed in Sudan – one in five of the potential workforce – according Minister of Human Resources Development El Sadeg El Hadi El Mahdi.

Sudan's National Assembly in Omdurman (File photo: SUNA)

There are currently 2.5 million people unemployed in Sudan – one in five of the potential workforce – according Minister of Human Resources Development El Sadeg El Hadi El Mahdi.

On Monday, Minister El Mahdi told Parliament in Omdurman that the number of unemployed is 20 per cent of the total workforce of 12.5 million, according to the latest survey of the labour force in Sudan this year, financed by the Ministry of Finance and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

The minister said that the workers in the country work in 21 income-generating areas according to the last survey form.

As reported this week by Radio Dabanga, Sudan’s inflation rate hit a record 57.6 per cent in April, compared with 55.6 per cent in March. The inflation has a worsening effect on wages, unemployment, poverty, and food and health conditions, as prices for basic goods in Sudan continue to rise.

* The population of Sudan is 37.3 million, according to July 2017 estimates by Index Mundi.