ZAMBIA’S latest Labour Force Survey should provoke a much deeper interrogation of how the economy is absorbing the millions of citizens who are of working age. According to the 2025 Labour Force Survey, Zambia had a working-age population of 12.8 million people, yet only 4.76 million were employed. The labour force stood at 5.28 million, with 523,751 people classified as unemployed under the strict definition of people actively seeking and available for work. At first glance, the unemployment figure may look manageable. But the report itself warns us not to stop there. Labour underutilization stood at 40.8 percent, which is a far more sobering figure because it captures people who are not fully utilized in the economy. The employment-to-population ratio...