The World Bank says Liberia’s growth pattern is failing to deliver jobs. “The quality of employment is very poor. Growth has not generated enough secure and productive employment
In its November 3, 2026 report, the World Bank described the quality of employment in Liberia as very poor, raising concerns about the country’s ability to convert economic progress into improved living conditions for its population.
“The quality of employment is very poor. Growth has not generated enough secure and productive employment,” the report stated.
The latest assessment presents a significant economic challenge for President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s administration, as unemployment, inadequate income, and limited access to decent work continue to affect the livelihoods of many Liberians.
According to the World Bank, although Liberia has recorded encouraging economic gains, the benefits of that growth have not translated into sufficient secure, productive, and well-paying jobs.
The report further noted that approximately 90 percent of new jobs created in recent years have been in informal or low-productivity self-employment, raising questions about the sustainability and quality of employment opportunities available to Liberians.
It emphasized that poverty reduction depends not merely on creating jobs but on moving workers into sectors that offer higher productivity and better wages.
“Poverty falls when workers move into higher-productivity, higher-wage sectors, and it is this transition, not job creation per se, that Liberia’s growth pattern is failing to deliver,” the report explained.
The findings highlight a growing concern within Liberia’s economy: many citizens considered economically active remain trapped in low-income activities that provide little financial security and are often insufficient to meet basic household needs.
For thousands of Liberians engaged in petty trading, small-scale businesses, informal services, and other low-productivity activities, having work does not necessarily mean having a sustainable income or escaping poverty.
The World Bank acknowledged that Liberia’s recent economic gains are encouraging but stressed that the country’s major challenge is ensuring that economic expansion produces tangible improvements in the lives of its people.
“Liberia’s recent economic gains are encouraging. The key challenge now is translating growth into opportunities and improvements in people’s lives,” the report stated.
The assessment places renewed pressure on the Boakai administration to address the country’s employment challenges through policies that promote productive industries, expand decent employment opportunities, strengthen the private sector, and improve workers’ earning capacity.
While economic growth remains an important measure of national development, the World Bank’s findings suggest that growth alone cannot adequately address poverty when the majority of newly created employment opportunities remain informal and poorly remunerated.
For the Boakai administration, the challenge is therefore not simply to demonstrate economic growth but to ensure that ordinary Liberians can feel its impact through decent jobs, improved incomes, and greater economic security.
The central question now confronting the government is whether Liberia’s economic growth can be transformed into opportunities that allow citizens to earn sustainable incomes and live above the threshold of economic hardship.
