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# [MAURITIUS] Q2 2026 Employment: Unemployment Dips to 5.5%, But Total Jobs Fall Short
- URL: https://businessoi.media/en/maurice-emploi-t2-2026-le-chomage-recule-a-5-5-mais-lemploi-global-marque-le-pas-en/
- Published: 2026-10-07T08:44:46.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-07T08:44:46.000Z
- Description: Unemployment at 5.5% in Q2 2026, a recent low — but 3,100 jobs lost in a single quarter. Youth and women remain the most exposed. A breakdown of the Statistics Mauritius data.
- Author: Emmanuel TAOCHY
- Tags: Maurice, emploi, Flash de mi-journée, #en

Mauritius's labour market delivered a mixed signal in the second quarter of 2026: the unemployment rate fell to **5.5%**, down from 5.7% in Q1 and 5.9% a year earlier — an improvement published on September 30 by Statistics Mauritius. Yet beneath the headline, total employment edged down from 553,700 in Q1 to **550,600** in Q2, a net loss of 3,100 jobs between quarters.

## Persistent Gender Gaps

The decline in unemployment owes much to progress among women, whose rate settled at **7%**, still against **4.4%** for men. Despite this improvement, women still account for 55% of all unemployed people in Mauritius. With 234,000 women employed versus 316,600 men, the road to parity remains long.

## Youth: the Achilles Heel

Young people aged 16 to 24 remain the most exposed segment. Their unemployment rate reached **19.3%** in Q2, ticking up slightly from Q1\. Young women are hardest hit at 22%, versus 17.2% for young men — a reminder of the urgent need for structural investment in training and job integration.

## Key Figures

The active population stands at **582,600**, with a participation rate of 58.8%. Among the unemployed, 72% have prior work experience — suggesting the challenge is more about retraining than labour market entry. Long-term unemployed (more than one year) number 5,100.

## Why It Matters

At 5.5%, Mauritius posts one of the lowest unemployment rates in the region. But the paradox — falling unemployment alongside shrinking employment — is partly explained by labour market withdrawals, which qualifies the optimism. With growth slowing to 3% in 2026, policymakers will need to watch for a possible reversal in the second half. Youth unemployment remains the country's top structural priority.

*Source: Statistics Mauritius, Labour Force, Employment and Unemployment report Q2 2026, published September 30, 2026.*