Experts question president’s 130 000 new jobs figure

Doubts are mounting over President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s announcement that 130 000 new jobs were created last year, with labour experts and union leaders questioning both the scale and interpretation of the figures.

In her recent State of the Nation Address, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah cited Social Security Commission (SSC) records to support the figure.

“I am glad to inform the nation that, according to the record of the Social Security Commission, over 130 000 people were registered as new employees during the review period. These achievements are noteworthy,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.

Data from the Namibia Statistics Agency indicate that about 546 805 Namibians were employed in 2023 out of a workforce of 867 247.

An increase of 130 000 jobs would represent roughly a 15% jump, pushing employment levels to nearly 80% of the workforce – a shift analysts say seems statistically implausible.

Critics say the numbers do not align with broader labour market data.

Labour expert Herbert Jauch said a surge in employment figures, as cited by the president, would have been widely felt across the economy.

“There is no way, absolutely not,” Jauch told Namibian Sun last week.

Trade unionist Kavihuha Mahongora dismissed the claim as “ridiculous, misplaced and a misuse of information”.

auch said the SSC figure may be misunderstood, arising from the registration of existing employees who had not previously been registered.

“It could be a recruitment drive to register people working for years but not registered that created this unfortunate impression. Only with annual labour surveys could we be sure,” he said.

Without updated labour force survey data, analysts say it remains unclear whether the reported increase reflects genuine employment growth or a statistical shift in how workers are recorded.

Available figures

Confirmed combined employment gains across three sectors – civil service, mining and fishing – during the period were about 11 347 jobs.

Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare confirmed in February that the civil service had grown in 2025 to 118 936 employees, up from 111 535 in 2024, adding 7 401 new civil servants.

According to figures shared by the Chamber of Mines of Namibia in February, the sector provided a total of 20 800 jobs in 2024, an increase of 2 611 from 18 189 in 2023.

Fishing employment stood at 19 440 in 2024, an increase of 1 335 jobs from the 18 105 recorded in 2023.

Agriculture, another major employer, has not recorded significant job growth.

The Namibia Agricultural Union said the sector has seen declining employment per farm, citing rising costs and structural challenges.

Prospects for new jobs in agriculture “remain concerning", NAU said, dampened by the impact of minimum wage implementation, losses due to elephant-related incidents and unreliable rural connectivity.

Officials have so far provided limited clarification. Presidency spokesperson Jonas Mbambo said the address draws on multiple data sources, while the Ministry of Justice and Labour referred questions to the SSC, which has yet to respond.

Namibia’s most recent Labour Force Survey was conducted in 2023.