Zimbabwe’s telco sectors notes drop in employees of almost 10%

Zimbabwe’s telecommunications sector saw a drop in its number of employees in 2017, falling to 6,178 workers.

The sector saw a decrease of employment of 9.9%, according to a new report released by the Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ).

The reported, dubbed the Abridged Annual Postal and Telecommunications Sector Performance Report 2017, indicated a rise in women employed in the industry, however.

The telecommunications and postal industry saw a 5% increase in employment between 2016 and 2017, from 29.9% female workers to 31.5%.

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By the end of 2017, Telecel, NetOne, and Econet Wireless – Zimbabwe’s three network operators – collectively had 2,755 workers, a 2% rise from the same time of the previous year.

The nation’s internet access providers number of employees fell by 2.2%, hitting 653 workers from 668.

The report also found that mobile money subscriptions in Zimbabwe grew by 42.5%, reaching 4.7mn in 2017 – the nation also saw a decline in cash bank transactions.

Airtime, bill, and merchant related payments totalled US$1.6bn during the review period.