I commonly encountered a habit of juggling two or more jobs , one of which was usually selfemployed in a personal business venture . According to a 2014 report by the Ugandan Ministry of Finance , Planning and Economic Development ( MOFPED ), 80 % of the labour force works primarily for themselves or their families , predominantly in the agricultural sector . 24 % of economically active adults work in two or more different jobs , while only 11 % of the labour force is primarily engaged in non-agricultural wage employment . [ 3 ]
For many Ugandans , going it alone seems the most secure and favourable means of earning a living . When looking closely at the MOFPED report , we can assign blame to a weak labour market , beleaguered by demand constraints :
The labour force growth rate has significantly outpaced the growth of salaried employment in Uganda . The number of labour market entrants has rapidly increased , with over half of the labour force under the age of 30 , and over half of the population still under the age of 15 . Consequently , many young people cannot find wage employment , and look to entrepreneurship as an alternative .
The effects of an increasingly young population are compounded by many students ’ delayed entry into the education system , and need to repeat higher grades . The result is that a majority of young people reach working age before completing primary school , and so are less likely to continue to higher levels of education . Instead , they enter the labour market . Indeed , only around 5 % of the labour force has completed upper secondary school .
Furthermore , unemployment is increasing among those with higher education . Although 73 % of university graduates were employed in graduate-level occupations in 2009 / 10 , this fell to 53 % in 2012 / 13 . As a result , many highly-educated people are absorbed into employment in the informal sector , often starting their own businesses .
76 % of households earn income from agricultural production , but it is the most important source of income for only 42 % of households , as agricultural incomes tend to be low and irregular . Instead , non-agricultural enterprises and wage employment have emerged as important supplementary income sources : over 70 % of households earn income from either wage employment or non-agricultural enterprises . Given the difficulties of gaining formal sector salaried jobs , entrepreneurship has grown as people seek to supplement their income beyond agricultural sources alone .