The Vice President for Fiscal Affairs at the University of Liberia (UL) and Economist Dr. Lester Tenny has pushed back strongly against claims that the Government of Liberia cannot create 70,000 jobs as outlined by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai in his 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA), arguing that critics are misinterpreting fundamental labor economics concepts.
In a detailed commentary circulating publicly, Dr. Tenny criticized what he described as a “naive and inaccurate” understanding of employment statistics by some critics, insisting that their arguments ignore internationally accepted definitions used by institutions such as the International Labour Organization (ILO).
“Let me invite Samuel Tweah to my labor economics class,” Dr. Tenny wrote, adding that claims suggesting it is impossible to create 70,000 jobs reflect a misunderstanding of basic labor economics.
Dr. Tenny referenced the work of globally renowned labor economists-including Nobel laureates Claudia Goldin and David Card, as well as Jacob Mincer, Daron Acemoglu, David Autor, and Gary Becker-to contextualize his argument that employment creation must be assessed using proper theoretical frameworks rather than political rhetoric.
According to Dr. Tenny, a critical distinction often overlooked in public debates is the difference between total employment and wage and salaried employment.
He explained that total employment includes all working-age individuals engaged in economic activity, such as self-employed persons, informal sector workers, and unpaid family workers.
“Total employment consists of all persons of working age involved in any economic activity to produce goods and services for wage or profit,” he stated. “This includes formal wage earners, the self-employed and unpaid family workers.”
He noted that wage and salaried workers represent only a subset of total employment-those who work for public or private employers and receive fixed compensation not directly tied to business revenue.
Dr. Tenny argued that equating job creation solely with formal, salaried employment-particularly in a developing economy like Liberia’s-misrepresents reality and undermines sound economic analysis.
“Using total employment to mean only formal structured jobs grossly undermines critical thinking embedded in foundational labor economics theories,” he said.
Addressing comparisons with employment figures reported under the previous administration, Dr. Tenny suggested that earlier claims of hundreds of thousands of jobs referenced broad employment definitions that included informal and subsistence activities.
“Those figures were referencing the same foundational concepts,” he noted, adding that many of the activities cited were linked to unsustainable practices and, in some cases, public sector mismanagement.
Dr. Tenny acknowledged that President Boakai may have understated overall employment figures due to challenges in timely data collection but expressed confidence in the country’s economic direction.
“What people refer to as difficulties will soon be a thing of the past,” he said. “Anyone who truly learned economics will understand where the country is heading-into prosperity.”
He attributed this optimism to ongoing fiscal reforms and efforts by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) to curb revenue leakages.
“The closing of the leakages currently undertaken will soon witness dividends. The country is resolving the contradictions and impasse,” Dr. Tenny concluded.
The debate over job creation continues to feature prominently in Liberia’s post-SONA public discourse, with economists, policymakers, and political actors offering differing interpretations of employment data and economic performance.
