AfDB Partnerships Forum 2012
Youth Employment in Africa
A Brief Overview and the ADB’s Response
Stijn Broecke, EDRE2
Amadou B. DIALLO, OSHD1
Mar-16
By 2030, nearly a quarter of young people in the world will be African.
100%
90%
OCEANIA
80%
70%
NORTHERN AMERICA
60%
LATIN AMERICA AND
THE CARIBBEAN
EUROPE
50%
40%
30%
ASIA
20%
10%
AFRICA
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
2030
0%
Source: AfDB calculations based on United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division
(2011). World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision, CD-ROM Edition.
2
Although the young constitute around two fifths of the continent’s working age
population, they make up three fifths of the total unemployed.
Youth unemployment rate
Adult Unemployment Rate
60.0
50.0
40.0
% 30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
Source: AfDB computations
3
Youth unemployment in North Africa is the highest in the world.
Sub-Saharan Africa
12.8%
North Africa
27.1%
Middle East
26.2%
Latin America and the Caribbean
South Asia
13.3%
9.9%
South-East Asia and the Pacific
East Asia
13.4%
8.8%
Central and South-Easter Europe and CIS
17.7%
Developed Economies and EU
World
17.9%
12.7%
Source: AfDB computations
4
And labour force participation rates in North Africa are among the lowest in the
world.
Sub-Saharan Africa
54%
North Africa
Middle East
34%
30%
Latin America and the Caribbean
South Asia
53%
41%
South-East Asia and the Pacific
52%
East Asia
Central and South-Easter Europe and CIS
Developed Economies and EU
World
60%
42%
48%
49%
Source: AfDB computations
5
Women are particularly disadvantaged.
80
Male
Female
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Morocco (2010)
Algeria (2010)
Tunisia (2010)
Egypt (2011)
Source: AfDB computations
6
Female unemployment rates vary considerably across the continent.
Ratio of female-to-male unemployment rates
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
Source: AfDB computations
7
Low unemployment rates and high participation rates in Sub-Saharan
Africa are not necessarily a good news story.
The unemployment/informal sector trade-off
100
S. Leone
Ethiopia
B. Faso
Tanzania
Madagascar
Niger
Cameroun
Liberia
Uganda
Benin
90
Informality (%)
80
70
Ghana
Mali
Zambia
Lesotho
Kenya
Zimbabwe
60
Morocco
50
40
Algeria
Egypt
30
Botswana
Tunisia
Namibia
20
Mauritius
10
S. Africa
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Unemployment rate (%)
Source: AfDB computations
8
Young people in Africa have very low educational attainment compared to
other regions in the world.
Secondary and tertiary enrolment ratios, by region
Gross Secondary Enrolment Ratio
Gross Tertiary Enrolment Ratio
120%
100%
77%
80%
20%
35%
95%
81%
58%
26%
6%
96%
74%
55%
60%
40%
89%
28%
38%
11%
0%
Source: Authors’ calculations based on World Development Indicators 2011.
9
Yet education does not appear to act as an insurance against
unemployment.
Youth unemployment by level of education (%)
Country
Botswana
Congo DR
Egypt
Ethiopia
Malawi
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
South Africa
Senegal
Tanzania
Uganda
No education
24,4
0,0
4,9
1,9
1,3
7,9
11,7
4,6
31,4
14,1
2,3
0,9
Basic
education
33,7
0,0
9,7
6,9
0,6
16,9
15,6
5,1
54,9
25,2
8,1
2,1
Secondary
education
37,8
0,1
51,2
37,0
4,5
19,7
20,2
54,3
30,2
32,8
6,3
Vocational
29,7
21,6
11,7
16,1
14,7
10,7
49,7
14,3
23,4
6,6
University/
Tertiary
33,0
4,8
34,2
13,5
23,2
21,1
34,9
6,8
23,2
19,0
Source: AfDB computations
10
Higher education expansion – The case of Tunisia
Number of graduates, by sex
Male
Female
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
-
11
Graduate unemployment – the case of Tunisia
Illiterate
Primary
Secondary
Higher
Total
25
20
15
10
5
0
1994
1999
2004
2009
12
Key Findings (i)
1.
There is considerable heterogeneity and complexity in African labour
markets, and therefore there is no one-size-fits-all solution to
employment issues in African countries.
2. That said, the young are particularly disadvantaged and deserve
special attention. Youth unemployment rates are double adult
unemployment rates in most African countries and, in some countries
(e.g. South Africa), as many as one in two young people are
unemployed.
3. North Africa and higher income Sub-Saharan African countries have
particularly high youth unemployment rates – far exceeding the world
average.
4. In many other African countries, youth unemployment rates appear
relatively low by international standards. However, this frequently
disguises high rates of vulnerable employment and working poverty.
13
Key Findings (ii)
5. Women are also disadvantaged. In North Africa, women face higher
inactivity and unemployment rates than men. In Sub-Saharan Africa,
gender inequalities manifest themselves primarily in the much higher
share of women in vulnerable employment and working poverty.
6. Africa has a very low educational attainment compared to the rest of
the world. Unlike in OECD countries, however, education does not
appear to act as an insurance against unemployment. Although more
research is needed in this area, the evidence points to a segmented
labour market and skills mismatches.
14
The Joint Initiative to Promote
Youth Employment in Africa
•
•
•
•
•
Historical Background
The African Development Bank (AfDB), African Union (AU), Economic
Commission for Africa (ECA), and the International Labor Organization
(ILO) have put in place a joint initiative to boost youth employment in
Africa and provide a response to some of the above-mentioned challenges.
The initiative originated from the AfDB’s Board of Directors’ decision at its
2010 Annual Meetings to tackle the growing youth unemployment crisis in
the continent.
It is also in line with the commitment made by the African Heads of State
at the 17th Ordinary Session of the African Union (Malabo, July 2011), and
with the UN Agenda of promoting decent and productive work for young
women and men.
Finally, it is aligned with the framework of the Declaration on Employment
Promotion and Poverty Alleviation resulting from the African Heads of
State Extraordinary Summit (Ouagadougou, September 2004).
15
Rationale for the Joint Initiative
• Each of the four partners partaking in the Joint Youth
Employment Initiative will focus on areas of intervention in which
they have the greatest comparative advantage.
• (i) AU has the political legitimization role in line with the
Ouagadougou Action Plan,
• (ii) AfDB has a mandate of promoting the social and economic
development of Africa through technical and financial leverage
and strength in preparing and implementing operational
interventions,
• (iii) ECA has expertise in youth employment policy advocacy
within the framework of sound macroeconomic analysis
• (iv) ILO has specific mandate, expertise and experience promoting
decent work through labor, employment and social protection
issues as described in the Decent Work Agenda.
16
Vision, Scope and Coverage
• Scope
• The Initiative is a long-term partnership (2011-2050) with sub-division
into phases (every 5 years), each to be reviewed/ evaluated.
• Objectives
• Development objective: Creation of jobs (quantity, quality,
sustainability)/reduction of youth unemployment and under
employment, benefiting from the demographic dividend.
• Immediate objective: About increased efficiency and effectiveness of
youth employment efforts, facilitating implementation of existing
plans.
• Coverage
• The whole African continent. However, for the beginning, 10 pilot
countries will be selected for the next 3 to 5 years.
17
Fundamental aspects of the approach:
- Place the Joint Initiative within context of existing
frameworks, efforts (Ouagadougou 2004, Malabo 2011,
CAADP, national policies and institutions, other initiatives by
same and other institutions, etc.)
- Coordinate, harmonize, align, create synergies (among all
actors)
- Learn from past experience of all actors (evaluations,
assessments, etc.)
- Build on complementarity of the four institutions, utilizing
comparative advantages
Emphasis on creating evidence base for policies, interventions
(statistics, research)
Interventions to be based on thorough diagnostics, analysis,
dialogue with all relevant actors (including private sector, youth)
in each country, sub-region
Interventions to be well monitored and evaluated
18
Areas of Intervention
Main areas of interventions:
Knowledge production and sharing
Policy-level interventions, advocacy, resource mobilization
Direct interventions (“field-level”), institutional capacity building
Focus on inclusive growth
Organizational issues
Each institution has appointed dedicated person to be full-time working
on the joint initiative. The Bank has selected 2 senior economists.
Secretariat
The four partners also agreed on having a permanent joint secretariat
for better coordination and synergy.
MOU
The partners will formalize the partnership by signing an MOU
Active engagement of the private sector and youth should be ensured.
.
19
Achieveme nts to Date (1)
• Support for advocacy for the initiative of youth employment
– shape the Bank’s Action Plan under the initiative and
campaign for broad awareness and supportive incentive
from various stakeholders
• - respond selectively to requests according to the comparative
advantage of the requesting development agencies and the RMCs
• - meetings with youths associations
• - side-events to international events,
• - discussions with Governments during missions,
• - link with other initiatives such as the Global Facility for Employment
Generation In Fragile and Conflict Affected states (FCS)
• - link to the AfDB’s HD strategy (NEMA, HEST, etc.)
• - etc.
20
Achieveme nts to Date (2)
• Support for knowledge production and knowledge sharing –
build knowledge platform for the RMCs by mapping youth
employment scenario and intervention tools and
instruments.
• - Contribute to the research and statistical capacity building in
collaboration with EDRE and ESTA
• - Co-author of the background paper for the AEO 2012 on youth
employment in Africa along with in-depth country analysis (15
countries analyzed)
• - Project of a Pan African Observatory on Youth employment
21
Achieveme nts to Date (3)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Collaboration within- and across- institutions based on country need
assessment and institutions’ comparative advantage – identify and
implement operations with sustainable employment promotion capacity in
cross-cutting fields.
The Bank and its partners has identified the following aspects to extend further support
for RMCs through policy dialogue, project and program implementation, and resource
mobilization to maximize joint effort with various stakeholders:
Assistance for shaping country policies and strategies for promoting employment and job
creation;
Entrepreneurship cultivation for the youth;
Enhancing employability of the youth through rebuilding education system and
improving education quality to match the gap between demand and supply of skill-set;
Identify and implement job creation projects and programs with Bank-wide efforts;
Coordination and mapping through institutional cooperation with governments and with
development partners;
Resource mobilization for supporting the initiative’s strategy development and pilot
implementation.
Investment in green jobs and new areas (culture, artisanship, social business, tourism,
etc.).
22
Ways forward
•
•
•
The actions proposed in this joint Initiative are meant to
provide a framework and guiding principles for an informed
and effective support in the design, monitoring and evaluation
of policies and programs promoting productive and job-rich
growth for youth. The expected outcomes are to
(i) Assign centrality to youth employment in national development
frameworks through assistance to member countries to implement
National Policies of Youth Employment and research and analysis on key
issues affecting the integration of youth in labor markets in Africa; (ii)
Improve livelihoods and employability of Africa’s youths through matching
structures, processes, contents, and approaches of education systems,
especially in higher education, with the needs and requirements of labor
markets of formal and informal economies;
(iii) Sustainable political leadership and technical capacity established for
achieving results on youth employment promotion through upgrading the
knowledge base for policy decisions on employment at country and
regional levels.
23
Action Plan
• Mainstreaming Youth Employment into the Bank’s strategies
and Operations
• - Evaluation of Job Creation outcomes of ADB operations
• - Policy Level Intervention
• - Pilot Projects and Programmes
• Knowledge Production on Youth Employment
• - Establishing Labor Market Information Systems
• - Economic Sector Work
• - Mapping Exercise of Youth Employment Initiatives in Africa
• - Regional Observatories on Skills and Employment
• - Training
• - Pure research for theoretical and evidence-based knowledge.
24
• Advocacy
• Website and Blog
• Meetings, Conference and Events (sideevents, Youth talent day, etc.)
• Partnership and Coordination Secretariat
• Resource Mobilization
• Communication
25
Budget 2012-2013
Budget (AfDB)
Activity
I. Mainstreaming Exercise in Bank’s Operations
II. Knowledge Production
III. Youth Employment Programmes/Projects
Total (UA)
389,000
7,400,000
618,410,000
IV. Resource Mobilization
70,000
V. Advocacy
85,000
VI. Coordination, Communication
75,500
TOTAL
626,429,500
26
Persons to Contact
• Amadou B. DIALLO, PhD
• Senior Economist, OSHD1
• A.b.diallo@afdb.org; +21671101789
• Stijn Broecke
27
Thank you
www.afdb.org
www.afdb.org/aec
www.africaneconomicoutlook.org