Bandar seri begawan: The unemployment rate in Brunei Darussalam dropped from 5.1 per cent in 2023 to 4.7 per cent in 2024, as revealed by the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics (DEPS) in the Final Report of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) 2024.
According to Radio Television Brunei, the report highlighted that the majority of the unemployed, specifically those aged 18 and over, have secondary education or below, making up 54.1 per cent of the total unemployed population. Additionally, individuals aged between 25 and 64 years constituted 59.6 per cent of the unemployed demographic. The employed population saw an increase of 2.9 per cent, rising to 222,300 persons in 2024 from 216,000 persons in 2023. Employment in both public and private sectors showed growth, with a 0.3 per cent increase in the public sector and a 4 per cent rise in the private sector.
The report further detailed that employment growth in the private sector was mainly driven by wholesale and retail trade, construction, and accommodation and food service activities. Among local workers, 58 per cent were employed in the private sector, whereas 42 per cent were in the public sector. The Final Report of the LFS 2024 is accessible on the DEPS website.