More than 116,000 people could find work across Rwanda’s Western Province, where employers in mining, tea processing and construction say they have vacancies despite many young people struggling to secure jobs.
The province has identified 116,237 potential jobs across various sectors, but a gap remains between employers seeking workers and jobseekers who say they cannot find employment.
Young people and other jobseekers continue to face difficulties accessing available opportunities, while businesses report that some positions remain unfilled. The situation has prompted local authorities and development agencies to step up efforts to identify jobseekers and connect them with employers.
In Karongi District, some young people say they lack information about where jobs are available and how to apply. Others say they are willing to take on different types of work, including low-paying jobs, to earn an income and improve their livelihoods.
Employers, meanwhile, say labour shortages are affecting their ability to fill available positions.
Nsanzineza Erneste, who heads a mining company in Rutsiro District, said his business needed a substantial number of workers and called on relevant institutions to help connect employers with people looking for jobs.
“If 500 people came to our company looking for work, we could employ all of them. We could give them jobs as early as Monday,” he said.
Munezero Ephrem, a human resources officer at Gisovu Tea Factory, also cited difficulties in attracting workers, despite the availability of jobs.
“People do not often come forward, but if we could find them, we would employ them,” he said.
Maurice Nsabibaruta, Director General in charge of Community Development at the Local Administrative Entities Development Agency (LODA), said one of the priorities was to establish how many people needed jobs and identify where opportunities existed so that the two groups could be connected.
“One of the other tasks we undertook was to identify opportunities available in different parts of the country. Today, the aim is to bring these two groups together and identify people in particular need of employment so that their living conditions can improve,” he said.
Figures from the Ministry of Local Government and LODA indicate that the Western Province has 453 locations offering potential employment opportunities that could accommodate a combined total of 116,237 workers.
Rusizi, Rutsiro and Karongi are among the districts with significant opportunities, particularly in agriculture, tea processing and mineral extraction.
However, the employment challenge comes against a backdrop of economic hardship for many households in the province. Available figures show that the Western Province has approximately 671,000 households, of which about 258,000 live below the poverty line.
A report by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) on employment and labour market conditions showed that the national unemployment rate stood at 13.4 per cent in May 2026.
According to NISR, Rwanda had approximately 8.7 million people of working age, of whom 4.7 million were employed. About 729,000 people were unemployed but available for and seeking work. The labour force stood at 5.4 million, equivalent to 62.1 per cent of the working-age population.
Rwanda has set a target of creating 250,000 new jobs annually. In 2025, the country recorded more than 240,000 new jobs outside the agricultural sector.
