Accra, Aug. 9, GNA - Government's efforts in addressing the unemployment challenges have started bearing good results, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, said on Thursday.

Speaking at the launch of two reports on employment statistics namely, Report on Jobs Tracking Survey, 2006 and Ghana: Advertised Job Vacancies, 2006, he said a gross total of 186,039 jobs were created between January and September 2006, including 91,013 placements under the National Youth Employment Programme.

He said a total of 32,559 job losses were, however, recorded leaving a total of 153,480 net jobs created during the survey period.

Mr Baah-Wiredu said the study also found that 27,954 establishments had offered placements under the On-the-Job-Training, Internships, Vocation Employment and Attachment Programmes while various establishments during the same period retained 954 National Service Personnel.

He said it was clear that Ghana was on course in addressing the unemployment challenge, adding that the way ahead would require new policy responses.

Mr Baah-Wiredu expressed the hope that these studies would lead to the development of a database for the continuous measurement and monitoring of jobs created.

Professor N. N. N. Nsowah-Nuamah, Deputy Government Statistician, Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), said recognizing the fact that credible statistics on job creation would aid decision-making, the GSS had developed a mechanism for providing an up-to-date data on the labour market to help monitor job creations in the various sectors.

He explained that credible statistics on job creation was urgently needed by GSS to adopt and make a more proactive system of meeting the demand for statistics on employment hence the purpose of the new development on database.

Prof. Nsowah-Nuamah said the launching of the reports would inform the public about the efforts being made by GSS in providing timely and evidence-based data on the monitoring of the implementation of the 2006 Budget Statement to create jobs in the country.

Mr Kennedy Achakoma who spoke on behalf of the Secretary General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) observed that unemployment was the most pressing economic and social problem facing the country currently and called for proper planning and decision making towards its decline. He said in this regard information about the structure of employment or their distributions as well as various dynamics that drive the labour market were needed for both short-term economic policy formulation and effective management of the structural transformation of the economy.

Mr Achakoma said it was therefore imperative to establish a functional and effective labour market information system that would look beyond administrative sources for employment. The TUC commended the initiative of the GSS saying it would be an important contribution to government's strategy for accelerated growth and job creation.