This information is derived from the State Department's Office of Investment Affairs, Investment Climate Statement. Any questions on the ICS can be directed to EB-ICS-DL@state.gov
Last Published: 7/18/2017

The state civil service bureaucracy is the country’s largest employer.  The World Bank and other international lending institutions have pressed for reform in public sector hiring practices. Prior to 1991, college graduates of the state’s Marien Ngouabi University were guaranteed civil service positions. Though this practice was abolished, the expectation of guaranteed employment appears to remain (with long waiting periods) in certain fields of study, such as education, administration, technical vocations, and medicine. The potential educated work force is largely trained in skills unrelated to the country’s current needs. This problem is slowly improving with the help of the private sector, which has focused hiring on engineering, management, and technical skills.

Unemployment in the Republic of Congo is high, with youth and women disproportionately affected. Reliable unemployment figures are difficult to obtain; the International Labor Organization (ILO) of the United Nations reports an overall rate of 18 percent, with 15-24 age group at 12.1 percent. The actual rate is most likely closer to the numbers reported by Trading Economics and African Economic Outlook which report 46.1 percent unemployment. Regardless of which figures are accepted, all demonstrate that a strong numerical pool of applicants exists for potential employers.

Except for members of the police, gendarmerie and armed forces, the Republic of Congo constitution provides workers with the right to form unions and to strike, subject to conditions established by law. The Labor Code allows for collective bargaining; however, collective bargaining is not widespread due to the social and economic disruption and extreme hardship that occurred during much of the 1990s. There are occasional work strikes over non-payment of salaries by both public and private institutions, but these are typically resolved quickly and without incident.

The Labor Code establishes a standard work period of seven hours per day and 35 hours per week.
 

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More Information

Congo Brazzaville Economic Development and Investment Law