Job growth accelerates in December 2017

The Ghanaian economy is one that has seen a lot of unevenness and inconsistency in growth patterns. An issue that remains a concern in most reports on the economy is the rate of unemployment and underemployment especially among the youth.

This poses a herculean task policy makers years passed and present have been contending to lessen if not eradicate and that brings to mind the issue of job creation. The good news in that in December 2017 the rate of job creation accelerated.

This information is contained in the Standard Bank Ghana Purchasing Managers Index (PMI). According to the report, the month of December constituted the sixteenth successive month in which staffing levels were increased. This increase was a response to higher output requirements leading to the increase rate recorded for job creation for the month of December.

The PMI also reported that Ghanaian companies recorded a further solid increase in business activity during December, despite the rate of expansion easing from that seen in the previous month. According to respondents, higher new orders alongside good quality products and services had been behind the upturn in output.

As a result, charges rose at a marked pace, and one that was the sharpest since March. This further indicates that output prices have now increased in each of the past six months.

Overall input prices increased sharply at the end of 2017, and to the greatest extent in nine months.

The Standard Bank Ghana Purchasing Managers’ Index is based on data compiled from monthly replies to questionnaires sent to purchasing executives in approximately 400 private sector companies, which have been carefully selected to accurately represent the true structure of the Ghanaian economy, including agriculture, construction, industry, services and wholesale and retail.

The panel is stratified by GDP and company workforce size. Survey responses reflect the change, if any, in the current month compared to the previous month based on data collected mid-month.