Tanzania Formal Sector Employment and Earnings Survey 2023/24
Analytical Report
The United Republic Of Tanzania, 2024 - 2025
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Reference ID
TZA-NBS-TFSEES-2024-v01
Producer(s)
Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics ., The Chief Government Statistician, Zanzibar.
Metadata
Created on
Oct 16, 2025
Last modified
Oct 16, 2025
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Identification
Survey ID Number
TZA-NBS-TFSEES-2024-v01
Title
Tanzania Formal Sector Employment and Earnings Survey 2023/24
Subtitle
Analytical Report
Country
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| The United Republic Of Tanzania | URT |
Study type
Enterprise Survey [en/oth]
Series Information
The Tanzania Formal Sector Employment and Earnngs Survey is an annual survey, and it is the Second joint annual survey conducted between Tanzania Mainland and Tanzania Zanzibar
Abstract
The Employment and Earnings Survey (EES) is an annual survey targeting the formal employment sector in Tanzania. Its goal is to gather accurate statistics on employment and earnings, as well as socio-economic characteristics of the labour market. This information aids in creating and monitoring policies that promote economic growth across various sectors. Employment and Earnings Surveys focuses on seven main areas namely; Employment Profile: An overview of employment status and trends; Wage Rate Profile: Information on wage levels and variations; Cash Earnings Profile: Details about actual earnings received by workers; Annual Wage Bill Profile: Insights into total wages paid by employers; Newly Recruited Workers: Data on new hires in the labour market and Job Vacancies; Information about available job positions; and Summary of Key Findings, Policy Implications and Recommendations. The Survey is conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) under the authority of the Statistics Act Cap 351 and the Office of the Chief Government Statistician, Zanzibar under the authority of the Statistics Act Cap 351 Act No 9. The EES serves as a crucial tool for understanding the dynamics of the workforce and informing policy decisions
Kind of Data
Sample survey data [ssd]
Unit of Analysis
The unit of analysis is establishments, that is institutions/organizations.
Version
Version Description
Edited, anonymous dataset for public distribution.
Version Date
2024-07-25
Version Notes
The 2022/23 Tanzania Formal Sector Employment and Earnings report is the Second ever jointly produced report on employment and earnings between NBS and OCGS, thus presenting harmonized employment and earnings statistics for the whole of United Republic of Tanzania (URT); and its constituencies of Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar. Prior to the 2022/23, implementation of EES were carried out independently in Tanzania Mainland.
Scope
Notes
The scope of the Employment and Earnings Survey (EES) is defined by the type of economic activity and the institutional sector of the establishments surveyed. The survey is limited to the formal sector and includes establishments engaged in any economic activity classified under the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC), with the exception of household employment activities, extraterritorial organizations, and the armed forces
In terms of employment coverage, the survey includes all formal sector establishments in the public sector, all private sector establishments with 50 or more employees, and a sample of private establishments employing between 5 and 49 employees. The survey excludes domestic workers in private households, non-salaried working proprietors, and non-salaried family workers.
In terms of employment coverage, the survey includes all formal sector establishments in the public sector, all private sector establishments with 50 or more employees, and a sample of private establishments employing between 5 and 49 employees. The survey excludes domestic workers in private households, non-salaried working proprietors, and non-salaried family workers.
Topics
| Topic | Vocabulary | URI |
|---|---|---|
| International Standard Industrial Classification | ISIC | Link |
Keywords
| Keyword | Vocabulary | URI |
|---|---|---|
| The International Standard Industrial Classification | ISIC | Link |
Coverage
Geographic Coverage
Tanzania Mainland
Tanzania Zanzibar.
Regions of Tanzania
The survey encompasses establishments located in all 31 regions of Tanzania
Tanzania Zanzibar.
Regions of Tanzania
The survey encompasses establishments located in all 31 regions of Tanzania
Universe
The survey includes all formal sector establishments in the public sector, all private sector establishments with 50 or more employees, and a sample of private establishments employing between 5 and 49 employees. The survey excludes domestic workers in private households, non-salaried working proprietors, and non-salaried family workers.
Producers and sponsors
Primary investigators
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics . | Ministry of Finance. |
| The Chief Government Statistician, Zanzibar. | President’s Office - Finance and Planning. |
Producers
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| NIL | NIL | NIL |
Funding Agency/Sponsor
| Name | Abbreviation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Goverment of Tanzania | TZA | Public Services |
| World Bank | WB | Global Bank-Donors Fund(Development Partners) |
Other Identifications/Acknowledgments
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Prime Minister’s Office - Labour, Youth, Employment and Persons with Disabilities | Goverment of Tanzania | Public Services |
| Department of Labour and Price Statistics | National Bureau of Statistics | Data Producer |
| The Statistical Business Register (SBR) unit | National Bureau of Statistics | Data Producer |
| Regional Statistical Managers (RSM) under the department for Field Operations | National Bureau of Statistics | Data Producer |
Sampling
Sampling Procedure
The 2023/24 EES covered formal establishments in both private and public sectors in Mainland Tanzania in such a way that they formed a representative sample, reflecting the level and magnitude of the economic activities within their respective industrial groups. The 2023/24 EES sample was based on a sampling frame obtained from the Statistical Business Register (SBR) developed and maintained by NBS. The existing sampling frame was developed on the basis of International Standard Industrial Classification Revision 4 (ISIC Rev.4).
The survey covered all public sector establishments and private sector establishments with at least 50 employees. Furthermore, the survey covered a sample of private establishments employing 5 to 49 persons. The sampling for this group involved stratifying establishments into those with 5 to 9 employees and those with 10 to 49 employees. Establishments in these strata were further stratified on the basis of their economic activities and ultimately a single stage sampling technique was used to derive representative establishments from each activity using probability proportion to size (PPS)
The survey covered all public sector establishments and private sector establishments with at least 50 employees. Furthermore, the survey covered a sample of private establishments employing 5 to 49 persons. The sampling for this group involved stratifying establishments into those with 5 to 9 employees and those with 10 to 49 employees. Establishments in these strata were further stratified on the basis of their economic activities and ultimately a single stage sampling technique was used to derive representative establishments from each activity using probability proportion to size (PPS)
Deviations from the Sample Design
NIL
Response Rate
Response rates for 2023/24 EES were computed based on the number of selected establishments and the number of establishments that actually responded to the survey. Out of 15,810 selected establishments in Mainland Tanzania, response rate was 90.5 percent (14,307 establishments). However, out of 1,917 available establishments in Tanzania Zanzibar, response rate was 92.4 percent (1,772 establishments). The summary of response rates for both public and private sector is given in the Table 1.1
Sector Employment Size TZM ZNZ
Number of Establishments Response rate Number of Establishment Response rate
Selected Responded Available Responded
Private 1 - 4* 438 389 88.8
5 - 9 5,561 5,358 96.3 554 469 84.7
10 - 49 4,454 3,249 72.9 762 750 98.4
50+ 1,511 1,416 93.7 133 134 100.8
Sub Total 11,526 10,023 87.0 1,887 1,742 92.3
Public 1 - 4* 1 1 100.0
5 - 9 1,375 1,375 100.0 4 4 100.0
10 - 49 1,476 1,476 100.0 2 2 100.0
50+ 1,433 1,433 100.0 23 23 100.0
Sub Total 4,284 4,284 100.0 30 30 100.0
Grand Total 15,810 14,307 90.5 1,917 1,772 92.4
Sector Employment Size TZM ZNZ
Number of Establishments Response rate Number of Establishment Response rate
Selected Responded Available Responded
Private 1 - 4* 438 389 88.8
5 - 9 5,561 5,358 96.3 554 469 84.7
10 - 49 4,454 3,249 72.9 762 750 98.4
50+ 1,511 1,416 93.7 133 134 100.8
Sub Total 11,526 10,023 87.0 1,887 1,742 92.3
Public 1 - 4* 1 1 100.0
5 - 9 1,375 1,375 100.0 4 4 100.0
10 - 49 1,476 1,476 100.0 2 2 100.0
50+ 1,433 1,433 100.0 23 23 100.0
Sub Total 4,284 4,284 100.0 30 30 100.0
Grand Total 15,810 14,307 90.5 1,917 1,772 92.4
Weighting
The weights for the strata were calculated by using the simple expression denoted as:
Weight = N/n
Where: N = Total number of establishments in the sampling frame
n = Number of establishments that responded
Weight = N/n
Where: N = Total number of establishments in the sampling frame
n = Number of establishments that responded
Data Collection
Dates of Data Collection
| Start | End | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-02-01 | 2025-05-01 | Tanzania Minland |
| 2024-08-01 | 2024-10-01 | Tanzania, Zanzibar |
Data Collection Mode
Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]
Supervision
Teams from NBS and OCGS supervisors, visit the Enumration Aare during the time when survey Conducted. And Regional statistician Managers were always visit the to thea areas where surveys are conducted.
Data Collection Notes
Survey data were collected using Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI). The data collected include; basic information of the establishments, characteristics of regular and casual employees, number of newly recruited workers and job vacancies. A training of enumerators held before data collection (elaborate). English and Swahili language are used to interview during the time of data collectioIn, this depends on the language in which the respondents knows.
Data Collectors
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics | NBS | Data Producer |
| The Office of the Chief Government Statistician | OCGS | Data Producer |
Questionnaires
Questionnaires
The measures include careful design of the survey, including designing clear and unbiased questions in the questionnaire. After designing, the 2023/24 EES questionnaire was pre-tested to ensure questions were understandable and would fetch intended responses. Moreover, the 2023/24 EES sample was designed in such a way that it was representative of the entire population in order to reduce coverage and selection biases. Other strategies were intensive training of enumerators; pre-selection of sampled establishments; and regular quality control visits during field work to help identify and fix instances which could introduce non-sampling errors in the survey process.
The questionnaire is written in English Language
The questionnaire is written in English Language
Data Processing
Data Editing
Data editing took place at a number of stages throughout the processing, including:
a) Office editing and coding
b) During data entry
c) Structure checking and completeness
d) Secondary editing
e) Structural checking of SPSS data file
a) Office editing and coding
b) During data entry
c) Structure checking and completeness
d) Secondary editing
e) Structural checking of SPSS data file
Other Processing
1) Questionnaire reception
2) Office editing and coding
3) Data entry
4) Structure and completeness checking
5) Verification entry
6) Comparison of verification data
7) Back up of raw data
8) Secondary editing
9) Edited data back up
10) Export to SPSS in 4 files
11) Recoding of variables needed for analysis
12) Adding of sample weights
13) Calculation of wealth quintiles and merging into data
14) Structural checking of SPSS files
15) Data quality tabulations
16) Production of analysis tabulations
2) Office editing and coding
3) Data entry
4) Structure and completeness checking
5) Verification entry
6) Comparison of verification data
7) Back up of raw data
8) Secondary editing
9) Edited data back up
10) Export to SPSS in 4 files
11) Recoding of variables needed for analysis
12) Adding of sample weights
13) Calculation of wealth quintiles and merging into data
14) Structural checking of SPSS files
15) Data quality tabulations
16) Production of analysis tabulations
Data Appraisal
Estimates of Sampling Error
Survey estimates are derived from complex survey data, and may differ from true population parameter values due to survey errors. Survey errors are inevitable errors introduced by sampling. Total Survey Error (TSE) is the difference between a population mean, total, or other population parameters and the estimates of the of such parameters based on the sample survey, (Biemer and Lyberg, 2003). In this regard, TSE is theoretically a sum of sampling errors and non-sampling errors.
i. Non sampling errors
Inevitable errors introduced by sampling. Sampling errors can be evaluated and controlled by sample design and sample selection. It is measured by the variance of the estimator, in this case Coefficient of Variation (CV). Coefficient of Variation is a statistical measure that expresses the relative variability of a dataset in relation to its mean. It is calculated as the ratio of the standard deviation to the mean, expressed as a percentage.
If the CV is low (e.g., less than 25%), it indicates that the survey data has relatively low variability compared to the mean value. This suggests that the survey errors are consistent and that the measurements are relatively precise. High CV (e.g., greater than 25%), suggests that the survey data has high variability relative to the mean value. This could indicate that the survey measurements are imprecise, with large fluctuations or errors in the data, leading to less reliable results.
Table A1.2.1 to A1.2.6 indicates various survey quality measures including CVs for the 2023/24 Employment and Earnings Survey. It is observed that, CV values are generally low, indicating that, the survey errors are consistent and that the measurements are relatively precise.
i. Non sampling errors
Inevitable errors introduced by sampling. Sampling errors can be evaluated and controlled by sample design and sample selection. It is measured by the variance of the estimator, in this case Coefficient of Variation (CV). Coefficient of Variation is a statistical measure that expresses the relative variability of a dataset in relation to its mean. It is calculated as the ratio of the standard deviation to the mean, expressed as a percentage.
If the CV is low (e.g., less than 25%), it indicates that the survey data has relatively low variability compared to the mean value. This suggests that the survey errors are consistent and that the measurements are relatively precise. High CV (e.g., greater than 25%), suggests that the survey data has high variability relative to the mean value. This could indicate that the survey measurements are imprecise, with large fluctuations or errors in the data, leading to less reliable results.
Table A1.2.1 to A1.2.6 indicates various survey quality measures including CVs for the 2023/24 Employment and Earnings Survey. It is observed that, CV values are generally low, indicating that, the survey errors are consistent and that the measurements are relatively precise.
Access policy
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labor and Price Section Manager | National Bureau Of Statistics | james.mbongo@nbs.go.tz | www.nbs.go.tz |
| Head of devision of Gender and Employment Statistics | Office of the Chief Government Statistician | sabina.daima@ocgs.go.tz | zanstat@ocgs.go.tz |
Confidentiality
Confidentiality of respondents is guaranteed by The Statistics Act, [Cap 351 R.E 2019] Before being granted access to the dataset, all users have formally agreed:
1. All identifying information such as the name and address of respondent has been removed;
2. The information is disclosed in a manner that is not likely to enable the identification of the particular person or undertaking or business to which it relates.
3. Not attempt to identify any particular person or undertaking or business;
4. Use of information for research or statistically purpose only;
5. Not to disclose the information to any other person, organization
6. When required by the Director General, return all documents made available to him to the Director General;
7. Comply with the directions given by the Director General relating to the records.
8. Every person involved in the research or statistical project for which information is disclosed pursuant to this section shall make the declaration of secrecy set out in the first schedule.
Access conditions
Tanzania NBS considered three levels of accessibility:
1) Public use files, accessible by all
2) Licensed datasets, accessible under certain conditions
3) Datasets only accessible on location, for certain datasets
The dataset has been anonymized and available as a public use dataset. It accessible to all for statistical and research purposes only, under the following terms and conditions:
1. The data and other material will not be redistributed or sold to other individuals, institutions, or organization without the written agreement of the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics.
2. The data will be used for statistical and scientific research purposes only. They will be used solely for reporting of aggregated information, and not for investigation of specific individuals or organizations.
3. No attempt will be made to produce links among dataset provided by the National Bureau of Statistics, or among data from the (National Bureau of Statistics) and other datasets that could identify individuals or organizations.
4. No attempt will be made to re-identify respondents, and no use will be made of the identify of any person or establishment discovered inadvertently. Any such discovery would immediately be reported to the National Bureau of Statistics.
5. Any books, articles, conference papers, theses, dissertations, reports, or other publications that employ data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics will cite the source of data in accordance with the Citation Requirement provided with each dataset.
1) Public use files, accessible by all
2) Licensed datasets, accessible under certain conditions
3) Datasets only accessible on location, for certain datasets
The dataset has been anonymized and available as a public use dataset. It accessible to all for statistical and research purposes only, under the following terms and conditions:
1. The data and other material will not be redistributed or sold to other individuals, institutions, or organization without the written agreement of the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics.
2. The data will be used for statistical and scientific research purposes only. They will be used solely for reporting of aggregated information, and not for investigation of specific individuals or organizations.
3. No attempt will be made to produce links among dataset provided by the National Bureau of Statistics, or among data from the (National Bureau of Statistics) and other datasets that could identify individuals or organizations.
4. No attempt will be made to re-identify respondents, and no use will be made of the identify of any person or establishment discovered inadvertently. Any such discovery would immediately be reported to the National Bureau of Statistics.
5. Any books, articles, conference papers, theses, dissertations, reports, or other publications that employ data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics will cite the source of data in accordance with the Citation Requirement provided with each dataset.
Citation requirements
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) [Tanzania]. 2024. Tanzania Formal Sector Employment and Earnings Survey 2023/24. Dodoma, Tanzania: NBS.
Access authority
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Bureau of Statistics | Mninistry of Finance | sg@nbs.go.tz | www.nbs.go.tz |
| Office of the Chief Government Statistician | OCGS | zanstat@ocgs.go.tz | www.ocgs.go.tz |
Disclaimer and copyrights
Disclaimer
"The user of the data should acknowledge that, Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics is the original collector of the data, the authorized distributor of the data, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences without a written agreement from the National Bureau of Statistics".
Copyright
(c) 2024, National Bureau of Statistics
Metadata production
DDI Document ID
TZA-NBS-TFSEEN-2024-v01
Producers
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Bureau of Statistics | NBS | Ministry of Finance | Data Producer |
| Government Statistician Zanzibar | OCGS | President’s Office - Finance and Planning | Data Producer |
Date of Metadata Production
2025-07-30
DDI Document version
version 1.0