9CV9 Research × Exclusive Data Report
Yemen's Labor Market:
A Crisis in Numbers
100+ quantitative statistics on the state of hiring, employment, and recruitment in Yemen — sourced from ILO, World Bank, WFP, UNICEF, and leading international research institutions.
📅 Data: 2024–2026
🏛️ Sources: ILO · World Bank · WFP · UNICEF · IRC
🌍 Region: MENA · Conflict Economy
⚡ Headline Indicators
17.1%
Unemployment Rate
2024 — 2.4× the global average of 6.99%
32.4%
Youth Unemployment
Ages 15–24 — 2× the global avg of 16.08%
29.5%
Female Unemployment
3× the global female avg of 8.37%
7.85M
Total Labor Force
Record high — but jobs have not kept pace
32.85%
Labor Force Participation
vs. 60.63% global avg — severely depressed
5.1%
Female Participation
vs. 51.07% globally — extreme exclusion
−58%
Real GDP per capita has collapsed by 58% since 2015
From ,960 to 33 USD — one of the most devastating wartime economic contractions in modern history. Source: World Bank Spring 2025 Yemen Economic Monitor.
Unemployment Rates: Yemen vs. Benchmarks (2024)
Sources: World Bank / FRED (SLUEM1524ZSYEM) · ILO MENA Brief 2024 · fycci-ye.org Report 2025
⚙️ Employment Structure
Informal Employment
77.4%
Self-Employment
54.5%
Services Sector
~60%
Agriculture Sector
29.3%
Industry Sector
~14.5%
Only 47% of men and 34% of women receive formal wages — the rest rely on informal or unpaid arrangements.
♀ Gender Employment Gap
47% of Yemeni women report gender discrimination at work (2024 survey). The gender participation gap of 55+ percentage points is among the world's widest.
🌐 Diaspora & Remittances
💸
38%
Remittances as share of GDP (2024) — 3rd most dependent globally
🌍
2.48M
Yemeni diaspora stock abroad (2024)
🇸🇦
1.8M
Yemenis in Saudi Arabia — largest single diaspora community
🧠
6.2/10
Brain drain index (2024) — high skilled-worker outflow
💰 Wage Landscape (Formal Sector, 2024–2026)
⚠️ IRG exchange rate: ~238 YER/USD | Houthi area rate: ~528 YER/USD — creating two entirely different salary environments. No reliable wage enforcement exists in any part of Yemen. Source: wage.is, ILO/World Bank 2024.
🚨 Humanitarian Context — Direct Labor Market Impact
19.5M
Needing Humanitarian Aid (2025)
+7% vs 2024 — 47%+ of total population
18.1M
Facing Acute Food Insecurity
IPC Phase 3+ — over half the population, 2025
83%
Population Below Poverty Line
Destroys domestic demand for labor
4.8M
Internally Displaced Persons
15% of population — lost livelihoods
33
GDP per Capita (2024)
7% of world average — extreme poverty base
0.47
Human Dev. Index (2023)
vs. 0.744 world avg — "Low HDI" — fell 60 ranks
🌱 Emerging Opportunities
☀️
Solar
Renewable energy — fastest-growing new job sector in off-grid communities
💻
Digital
Freelancing, coding & digital marketing — top youth employment prospect
🏥
Health
Critical recruitment demand — 18% of 333 districts lack any physicians
🏗️
SMEs
Food industries, crafts & commercial services as flexible job engines
795
ILO 2023 Apprentices
48%
Female trainees
24
UNDP Training Districts
ILO and UNDP jointly identify Technical & Vocational Education Training (TVET) as a central pillar of Yemen's economic recovery — with programs running in all governorates. Source: fycci-ye.org Report 2025.