Online Reporter
Tawanda Musarurwa
THE country’s labour market showed stability in the first quarter of this year, even as workers’ pay packets swelled sharply, according to the latest Employment Index released by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat).
The Employment Volume Index, which tracks how many people are working across covered industries, stood at 99.1 in the January-to-March period – just 0,9 percent below its base level from the third quarter of 2024.
The figure was largely unchanged from 98.9 in the previous quarter, extending a pattern in which employment has hovered close to its benchmark for more than a year and a half.
“Employment Volume Indices fluctuated marginally around the base period benchmark, reflecting resilience in job retention and limited volatility in labour absorption,” ZimStat said in the report, which is compiled from the Quarterly Employment Inquiry and Salaries Services Bureau records.
The stability held across most regions.
Provincial-level employment climbed to 100.3, up from 99.1 the previous quarter.
Masvingo led all provinces with an index of 104.5, followed by Matabeleland South and Harare. Mashonaland East posted the weakest performance, at 93.3.
By sector, the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply industry recorded the sharpest employment gains, more than doubling its base-period level with an index of 205.7.
Arts, entertainment and recreation, along with human health and social work, also posted solid increases.
Information and communication lagged furthest behind, at 84.3. While job numbers stayed flat, earnings told a different story. The nominal Earnings Index jumped to 168.9, a 29,5 percent increase from the previous quarter and up 31,7 percent from a year earlier. Financial and insurance activities saw the steepest earnings growth, with an index of 689.3.
Crucially, wage gains outpaced inflation.
The Real Earnings Index – which adjusts nominal pay for consumer price changes – rose to 91.7, up from 71.5 the previous quarter, indicating workers’ purchasing power strengthened meaningfully during the quarter, even though it remains below the 2024 base level.
ZimStat characterised the quarter as “stable in employment absorption, progressive in nominal wage growth, and favourable in real earnings performance,” suggesting improved living standards for employed Zimbabweans despite the country’s broader macroeconomic pressures.
The Employment Index excludes agriculture, forestry and fishing due to limited establishment-based reporting.
