PNG growth surges, but jobs lag for ordinary citizens, World Bank says

WELLINGTON: Papua New Guinea’s economy expanded by 5.6percent in 2025, one of the strongest growth rates in the Pacific, but the boom is not translating into jobs or better livelihoods for most citizens, the World Bank said on Thursday in its June economic update.

The resource-rich nation’s growth was driven by both its mining and energy sector and a recovery in the broader economy, helped by foreign exchange reform that eased a longstanding currency shortage for businesses.

Strong gold and liquefied natural gas production also lifted output, while commodity prices and LNG revenue supported a strong current account surplus.

But formal employment per capita has declined, even as the population and workforce continue to expand rapidly, the World Bank said. Most new workers are entering subsistence farming or low-productivity informal work rather than the formal economy.

The bank said PNG’s economy is highly divided. Resources such as LNG, gold and copper generate about 80percent of export revenue but employ only around 6percent of the workforce, leaving most Papua New Guineans disconnected from productivity gains in the fastest-growing parts of the economy.

PNG needs a clearer jobs agenda, stronger infrastructure, better education and health, and reform to make it easier for private firms to invest and hire, the World Bank said.

Projects including Papua LNG and Wafi-Golpu represent an investment pipeline of more than USD30 billion, the bank said, offering the government a chance to negotiate stronger local employment and revenue provisions. The World Bank said broader job creation was likely to come from agriculture and agribusiness, urban services, fisheries and labour mobility, and that without stronger links between growth and employment, PNG risked leaving most of its people behind. Papua New Guinea government did not immediately respond to request for comment.