Stats Botswana unemployment figures questionable :: Mmegi Online

The preliminary results of the 2015/2016 Botswana Multi-Topic Household Survey (BMTHS) conducted by Statistics Botswana survey are finally published. The first instalment reports on Economic Activity with special emphasis on unemployment figures. This is certainly not without controversy.

The notion that numbers never lie is put under the spotlight. Upon close examination of the report on unemployment rates many quickly concluded that this time around numbers have lied.

According to BMTHS report unemployment declined from 20 per cent in 2013 to 17.7 per cent in 2016. The reference results were obtained from the Botswana AIDS Impact Survey (BAIS) IV of 2013. On the other hand the 2009/2010 Botswana Core Welfare Indicators Survey (BCWIS) recorded an unemployment level of 17.8% which translate into an insignificant improvement in job creation compared to BMTHS.

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