FACT-CHECK: Labour minister’s claim that Mahama inherited 15% unemployment rate is False

Claim: NDC government inherited 15% of unemployment rate in January 2025

Source: Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo (Minister for Labour, Jobs and Employment) 

Verdict: False

Researched by Gifty Danso

The Minister for Labour, Jobs and Employment, and Member of Parliament for Wa Central, Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo, has claimed the John Dramani Mahama-led government inherited an unemployment rate of 15% in 2025.

During an interview on Radio Gold on January 19, 2026, the Minister said “We inherited the last government with as much as 15% unemployment all over. And (we are) working towards creating opportunities for them and for a future situation where young people are going to finish school and will be looking for a job.

“We made sure that we tackled the first 15%, which was our priority last year, and we created those opportunities at the Youth Employment Agencies to target them throughout the country and give them something,” he said (between 20:46 and 21:27 of the interview). 

This fact-check will verify the minister’s claim.

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Fact-check

Unemployment rate as defined by the  Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) in its Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey, refers to “the number of unemployed persons 15 years and older divided by the economically active population 15 years and older multiplied by 100.”  

According to the executive summary of labour statistics released by the GSS in July 2025, the unemployment rate fell to 13.1% in the last quarter of 2024. 

“The national unemployment rate declined from a peak of 14.9 per cent in 2023 Q1 to 13.1 per cent in 2024 Q4, though female unemployment remained higher than male unemployment, with the gender gap narrowing from 7.4 to 3.9 percentage points,” the GSS said in its report (find here). 

This is not the first time public figures like the Labour Minister have made inaccurate claims about the employment rate inherited from the previous government. In October 2025, GhanaFact fact-checked an inaccurate statement by Minister of Government Communication, Felix Kwakye Ofosu. 

Verdict

 Therefore, the claim by the Labour Minister is false.