The Effect of the Private Sector in Employment Creation in Seychelles

Audrey Rose¹* & Tendai Joseph Mabvure^2,3

¹PhD Student, Unicaf University in Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
²Unicaf University in Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
³Unicaf University in Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi
DOI – http://doi.org/10.37502/IJSMR.2025.8608

Abstract

The importance of the private sector cannot be undervalued as it remains the prevailing source of employment generator in Seychelles, accounting for on average 65 per cent of the formally employed year on year. When looking at private sector’s contribution to employment, it is important to note that there are industries, mainly construction, and accommodation and food service industry, which are retaining the overall largest share of total employment but are not attracting local workers hence showing insufficiency local labour force (both skilled and unskilled). Additionally, whilst acknowledging the fact that socioeconomic vulnerabilities in the likes of teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, high unemployment among single female parents and youth, and declining education outcomes threaten human capital development, extreme poverty has nearly been eliminated as unemployment remains low at 3.2 per cent, be mindful that to develop private sector further, there are constraints. This paper, through document review method, provides a comprehensive view of private sector’s contribution to employment through primary data from Seychelles’ Bureau of Statistics and Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs, and recognised the constraints from United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report. The constraints are mainly: Skills Constraints, Ease of Doing Business, Competitiveness Constraints, and Geographic Remoteness and Small Domestic Market, and discussion around identified strategies to alleviate them was done. The findings contribute valuable insights for policymakers, stakeholders, businesses, and researchers who seek to understand the private sector’s contribution to employment opportunities. Additionally, serve as a valuable resource for policymakers and government who are playing a crucial role to ensure an enabling environment and working towards boosting private sector further to create more employment opportunities.

Keywords: Employment, Private, Industry, Formal, Sector, Constraints

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