LABOUR MARKET SURVEY 2025
Uganda
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Jul 29, 2026
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Jul 29, 2026
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Identification
Survey ID Number
DDI-UGA-UBOS-LMS-2025-V01
Title
LABOUR MARKET SURVEY 2025
Country
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| UGANDA | UG |
Abstract
The Labour Market Survey (LMS) 2025 is a nationally representative survey conducted by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) to generate up-to-date labour market statistics for Uganda. The survey comprises two modules — a household module and an establishment module (covering both formal and informal enterprises) — collected via CAPI (Survey Solutions software) between March and September 2025 across all 14 statistical sub-regions of Uganda.
The household module measures the socio-demographic and labour force characteristics of the population aged 15 years and above, including employment status, sector and type of employment, labour underutilization (unemployment, time-related underemployment, and combined/composite measures LU1–LU4), labour force participation, and youth employment outcomes (ages 15–24). The establishment module captures employment, occupation, contract type, vacancies, and job separations in formal establishments (sampled from the 2019/20 Census of Business Establishments) and informal establishments (sampled from listed enumeration areas), across 17 economic sectors classified under ISIC Rev.4.
The survey achieved a household response rate of 96.2 percent, an 88.3 percent coverage rate in formal establishments, and an 84.0 percent coverage rate in informal establishments. Findings are intended to inform labour market policy, employment programming, and monitoring of national and international labour force indicators (including SDG indicators related to employment and decent work).
The household module measures the socio-demographic and labour force characteristics of the population aged 15 years and above, including employment status, sector and type of employment, labour underutilization (unemployment, time-related underemployment, and combined/composite measures LU1–LU4), labour force participation, and youth employment outcomes (ages 15–24). The establishment module captures employment, occupation, contract type, vacancies, and job separations in formal establishments (sampled from the 2019/20 Census of Business Establishments) and informal establishments (sampled from listed enumeration areas), across 17 economic sectors classified under ISIC Rev.4.
The survey achieved a household response rate of 96.2 percent, an 88.3 percent coverage rate in formal establishments, and an 84.0 percent coverage rate in informal establishments. Findings are intended to inform labour market policy, employment programming, and monitoring of national and international labour force indicators (including SDG indicators related to employment and decent work).
Unit of Analysis
The survey has two modules, each with its own units:
Module Unit(s) of analysis
Household module Individual (household member) and household
Establishment module Business establishment (formal and informal)
Module Unit(s) of analysis
Household module Individual (household member) and household
Establishment module Business establishment (formal and informal)
Version
Version Description
V01
Scope
Topics
Keywords
| Keyword | Vocabulary | URI |
|---|---|---|
| Labour force | ELSST (European Language Social Science Thesaurus) | Link |
| Employment | ELSST (European Language Social Science Thesaurus) | Link |
| Unemployment | ELSST (European Language Social Science Thesaurus) | Link |
| Underemployment | ILO Thesaurus | Link |
| Labour force participation | ELSST | Link |
| Informal employment | ILO Thesaurus | Link |
| Informal sector | ILO Thesaurus | Link |
| Youth employment | ILO Thesaurus | Link |
| Occupation | ELSST | Link |
| Working conditions | ELSST | Link |
| Wages | ELSST | Link |
| Self employment | ELSST | Link |
| Job vacancies | ILO Thesaurus | Link |
| Households | ELSST | Link |
| Economically active population | ILO Thesaurus | Link |
| Uganda | Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN) | Link |
Coverage
Geographic Coverage
National coverage — Uganda, covering the 14 statistical Sub-regions:
Kampala, Buganda, Busoga, Bukedi, Elgon, Teso, Karamoja, Lango, Acholi, West Nile, Bunyoro, Tooro, Kigezi, and Ankole.
Data collection was spread across the country (all districts, grouped under these 14 sub-regions), disaggregated further by urban/rural classification. Fieldwork ran March–September 2025.
Kampala, Buganda, Busoga, Bukedi, Elgon, Teso, Karamoja, Lango, Acholi, West Nile, Bunyoro, Tooro, Kigezi, and Ankole.
Data collection was spread across the country (all districts, grouped under these 14 sub-regions), disaggregated further by urban/rural classification. Fieldwork ran March–September 2025.
Universe
Household module universe: Household population of Uganda — with most labour indicators (LFPR, EPR, unemployment rate, etc.) specifically referring to persons 15 years and above (the working-age population). Some indicators (e.g., LU2) reference a 14–64 years band.
Youth-specific analysis (Chapter 6): persons aged 15–24 years (with some indicators also shown for 18–30 years).
Establishment module universe:
Formal establishments — sampled from the 2019/20 Census of Business Establishments (COBE) frame, stratified by employment size (1–4, 5–49, 50–99, 100+ employees) and industry/sector (ISIC Rev.4). All establishments with 100+ employees were included with certainty. Sample: 2,985 establishments.
Informal establishments — sampled from establishments listed within the 1,035 selected EAs. Sample: 4,951 establishments.
Sectors covered: Agriculture/Forestry/Fishing, Manufacturing, Mining and Quarrying, Utilities, Construction, Trade, Transport and Storage, Accommodation and Food Services, Information and Communication, Finance and Insurance, Real Estate, Professional/Scientific/Technical activities, Administrative and Support Services, Education, Human Health and Social Work, Arts/Entertainment/Recreation, and Other Service activities.
Youth-specific analysis (Chapter 6): persons aged 15–24 years (with some indicators also shown for 18–30 years).
Establishment module universe:
Formal establishments — sampled from the 2019/20 Census of Business Establishments (COBE) frame, stratified by employment size (1–4, 5–49, 50–99, 100+ employees) and industry/sector (ISIC Rev.4). All establishments with 100+ employees were included with certainty. Sample: 2,985 establishments.
Informal establishments — sampled from establishments listed within the 1,035 selected EAs. Sample: 4,951 establishments.
Sectors covered: Agriculture/Forestry/Fishing, Manufacturing, Mining and Quarrying, Utilities, Construction, Trade, Transport and Storage, Accommodation and Food Services, Information and Communication, Finance and Insurance, Real Estate, Professional/Scientific/Technical activities, Administrative and Support Services, Education, Human Health and Social Work, Arts/Entertainment/Recreation, and Other Service activities.
Producers and sponsors
Primary investigators
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| UGANDA BUREAU OF STATISTICS(UBOS) | MINISTRY OF FINANCE, PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT |
Producers
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| UGANDA BUREAU OF STATISTICS | MINISTRY OF FINANCE, PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT |
Funding Agency/Sponsor
| Name | Abbreviation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| GOVERNMENT OF UGANDA | GOU | FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE |
Sampling
Sampling Procedure
Household module:
Two-stage stratified random sampling.
Stage 1: 1,035 Enumeration Areas (EAs) randomly selected from the national sampling frame, stratified by Sub-region (14) × urban/rural.
Stage 2: 10 households randomly sampled per EA (household listing updated prior to fieldwork), yielding an intended sample of ~10,350 households.
Establishment module:
Stratified random sampling, separately for formal and informal establishments.
Formal establishments: Sampled from the 2019/20 Census of Business Establishments (COBE) frame; stratified by employment size (1–4, 5–49, 50–99, 100+) and industry/sector (ISIC Rev.4). Establishments with 100+ employees selected with certainty (i.e., census, not sampled). Sample: 2,985.
Informal establishments: Sampled from establishments listed within the 1,035 selected EAs. Sample: 4,951.
Two-stage stratified random sampling.
Stage 1: 1,035 Enumeration Areas (EAs) randomly selected from the national sampling frame, stratified by Sub-region (14) × urban/rural.
Stage 2: 10 households randomly sampled per EA (household listing updated prior to fieldwork), yielding an intended sample of ~10,350 households.
Establishment module:
Stratified random sampling, separately for formal and informal establishments.
Formal establishments: Sampled from the 2019/20 Census of Business Establishments (COBE) frame; stratified by employment size (1–4, 5–49, 50–99, 100+) and industry/sector (ISIC Rev.4). Establishments with 100+ employees selected with certainty (i.e., census, not sampled). Sample: 2,985.
Informal establishments: Sampled from establishments listed within the 1,035 selected EAs. Sample: 4,951.
Weighting
The dataset carries survey weight variables confirming a weighted design:
Annual_wgt — annual (combined) survey weight
finalwgtQ1 — final weight for Quarter 1 (March–May)
finalwgtQ2 — final weight for Quarter 2 (June–August)
Annual_wgt — annual (combined) survey weight
finalwgtQ1 — final weight for Quarter 1 (March–May)
finalwgtQ2 — final weight for Quarter 2 (June–August)
Data Collection
Data Collection Mode
CAPI (Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing)
Software: Survey Solutions (World Bank tool)
Face-to-face interviews conducted by trained field enumerators using electronic devices
Built-in consistency/validation checks ran in real time during interviews
Data synced/uploaded daily to the UBOS central secure server for quality control
Software: Survey Solutions (World Bank tool)
Face-to-face interviews conducted by trained field enumerators using electronic devices
Built-in consistency/validation checks ran in real time during interviews
Data synced/uploaded daily to the UBOS central secure server for quality control
Metadata production
DDI Document ID
DDI-UGA-UBOS-LMS-2025-V01
Producers
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| UGANDA BUREAU OF STATISTICS | UBOS | MINISTRY OF FINANCE, PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT |