The World Bank has released the Sixth Edition of its annual Liberia Economic Update, titled “From Stabilization to Inclusion – Pathways to Resilient Growth and Productive Jobs.” The 2025 report provides an in-depth analysis of Liberia’s economic performance and private sector development, emphasizing how strengthening the private sector can drive productive employment and inclusive growth.
The report stresses that unlocking Liberia’s employment potential depends on expanding production capacity, fostering firm growth, and addressing concentration in specific regions and sectors. Currently, Liberia’s private sector is dominated by informal and micro-sized enterprises that lack the capacity to create large-scale, quality jobs, limiting the country’s economic diversification and resilience.
World Bank Country Manager for Liberia, Georgia Wallen, underscored the need to tackle labor market and private sector weaknesses to sustain growth and reduce poverty. She noted that maintaining macroeconomic stability and improving structural conditions are essential for strengthening Liberia’s domestic tax base, increasing resilience to external shocks, and enhancing social cohesion.
The report outlines a four-pronged strategy to transform the country’s employment landscape. This includes stimulating labor demand through investments in agro-processing and light manufacturing, supporting firm growth via regulatory and financial reforms, modernizing the business environment through public–private partnerships, and enhancing labor participation by improving skills and expanding opportunities for youth and women.
According to Gweh Gaye Tarwo, the report’s lead author and Liberia Country Economist, long-term success will require sustained investment in education and human capital, greater market access for local enterprises, and targeted incentives for firms that provide wage employment. He added that aligning industrial and labor policies with regional development and value chain opportunities will be key to reducing spatial inequalities and fostering inclusive, sustainable job creation across Liberia.
