Abstract
This article examines the limited progress in poverty reduction and employment creation in Sub-Saharan Africa despite sustained economic growth. The prevailing stagnation is attributed to the pre-eminence of conventional macroeconomic frameworks that are myopic in their focus on price stability, frequently enacted through fiscal austerity and inflation targeting. Drawing on comparative insights from East Asia and critiques of Structural Adjustment Programmes, the paper puts forward a pro-employment macroeconomic paradigm—one that integrates full employment and decent work as central policy goals. The analysis emphasises the potential of counter-cyclical fiscal policy, employment-intensive public investment, and active labour market policies to stimulate inclusive growth and structural transformation. A pivotal innovation that has been examined is pro-employment budgeting, which endeavours to synchronise employment objectives with national budgetary processes. The document calls for coherent institutional arrangements, cross-ministerial coordination, and inclusive governance to operationalise employment-centred development.