Harare Leads Formal Jobs Recovery

Harare has once again anchored Zimbabwe's formal employment landscape, demonstrating the strongest job performance among the country's provinces in the fourth quarter of 2025. The latest Employment Index from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) reveals that the capital city recorded an Employment Volume Index of 102.73, the highest in the nation.

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Harare has always been the country's largest formal employment centre because it hosts the bulk of high-value economic activity. As businesses continue to adjust to changing economic conditions, employers are naturally prioritising operations where markets, infrastructure and support services are strongest.

This figure signifies growth in formal employment above the baseline level. Masvingo province followed with an index of 101.71, making Harare and Masvingo the only provinces to exceed the baseline. In contrast, Mashonaland East registered the lowest reading at 92.36, with Midlands and Bulawayo at 95.72 and 95.88, respectively.

Nationally, the provincial employment index eased slightly to 99.10 in the fourth quarter, a 1.34 percent annual decline from the previous year. Quarter-on-quarter employment also slipped by 1.11 percent. Despite these modest declines, ZimStat highlighted that employment levels across most provinces remained close to the base level, suggesting overall stability in the formal labor market.

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The encouraging aspect is that most provinces are still clustered around the baseline index. This indicates that, while some regions experienced slower hiring, there has not been a widespread collapse in formal employment. The focus should now be on creating conditions that attract more private sector investment into the provinces.

Labour expert Lionel Zororo attributed Harare's strong performance to its status as the country's economic hub, hosting a concentration of corporate headquarters, financial institutions, government departments, and service industries. He noted that employers prioritize areas with the strongest markets, infrastructure, and support services. Economist Lester Mbiba added that the relatively small differences between provincial indices indicate resilience in Zimbabwe's labor market, despite economic headwinds, and emphasized the need to foster conditions for private sector investment in other provinces.

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the latest figures highlighted the importance of accelerating decentralised economic d