Da Dona
JF-Expert Member
- Dec 16, 2025
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A new government report has revealed that Uganda is struggling to fill more than 300,000 vacant public service positions despite rising unemployment among young people and university graduates.
According to the State of Human Resource Report 2025 released by Uganda’s Ministry of Public Service, government has approved 681,277 positions across various sectors, but only 374,642 are currently filled, leaving a gap of 306,635 vacant posts.
Officials say the problem is being worsened by the continuous creation of new administrative units and service structures, which are expanding faster than recruitment efforts. The overall staffing fill rate improved by only 1 percent between 2024 and 2025.
Speaking during the report release in Kampala, Commissioner for Statistics, Monitoring and Evaluation Mr. Joses Yegyeza noted that nearly half of all approved government jobs remain unoccupied.
The report highlights major staffing shortages in key public sectors:
Teaching service: 87,080 vacancies
Primary healthcare: 84,664 vacancies
Local governments: 32,509 vacancies
Uganda Police Force: 21,733 vacancies
Uganda Prisons Service: 27,828 vacancies
Referral hospitals: 18,829 vacancies
Public universities: 16,373 vacancies
Although sectors such as government agencies and police have relatively higher staffing levels, frontline services including health and education continue to face severe deficits. Referral hospitals reportedly operate with only about 31 percent staffing coverage, while public universities also remain critically understaffed.
The report further shows that while women dominate sectors like health services, men continue to dominate security institutions such as the Uganda Police Force and Uganda Prisons Service. Overall, men account for 59 percent of the public service workforce, compared to 41 percent for women.
Officials also acknowledged persistent barriers limiting women from advancing into top leadership positions within public service institutions.
Source: Daily Monitor UG
According to the State of Human Resource Report 2025 released by Uganda’s Ministry of Public Service, government has approved 681,277 positions across various sectors, but only 374,642 are currently filled, leaving a gap of 306,635 vacant posts.
Officials say the problem is being worsened by the continuous creation of new administrative units and service structures, which are expanding faster than recruitment efforts. The overall staffing fill rate improved by only 1 percent between 2024 and 2025.
Speaking during the report release in Kampala, Commissioner for Statistics, Monitoring and Evaluation Mr. Joses Yegyeza noted that nearly half of all approved government jobs remain unoccupied.
The report highlights major staffing shortages in key public sectors:
Teaching service: 87,080 vacancies
Primary healthcare: 84,664 vacancies
Local governments: 32,509 vacancies
Uganda Police Force: 21,733 vacancies
Uganda Prisons Service: 27,828 vacancies
Referral hospitals: 18,829 vacancies
Public universities: 16,373 vacancies
Although sectors such as government agencies and police have relatively higher staffing levels, frontline services including health and education continue to face severe deficits. Referral hospitals reportedly operate with only about 31 percent staffing coverage, while public universities also remain critically understaffed.
The report further shows that while women dominate sectors like health services, men continue to dominate security institutions such as the Uganda Police Force and Uganda Prisons Service. Overall, men account for 59 percent of the public service workforce, compared to 41 percent for women.
Officials also acknowledged persistent barriers limiting women from advancing into top leadership positions within public service institutions.
Source: Daily Monitor UG