Youth and Employment in Africa:
The Potential, the Problem, the Promise
1
Youth
Y
th and
d
Employment in Africa:
The Potential
Potential, the
Problem, the Promise
2
Why youth?
?
‰
62% of population in Africa is below 25 years
‰
Youth unemployment
p y
rate is 50% higher
g
than
that of the general labor force
‰
Youth, especially females, face more
obstacles than adults in establishing
themselves in the labor market
3
The potential
‰
The demographic transition makes youth the
most abundant asset, thus making it a
window of opportunity to boost Africa’s
economy
4
However, unemployment, underemployment
and low paid jobs lead to poverty traps
g yyouth
among
More than 70% of youth live under $2 per day
Country
Less than
US$ 2
per day
Burundi, 1998
85.7
Côte d'Ivoire, 1998
46.5
Cameroun, 2001
49.1
Ethiopia, 2000
70.7
Ghana, 1998
66.5
Kenya, 1997
54.4
Madagascar, 2001
81.7
Mozambique, 1996
75.4
Malawi, 1997
66.3
Ni
Nigeria,
i 1996
92 9
92.9
Sierra Leone, 2003
68.0
Uganda, 1999
93.8
Zambia, 1998
86.3
SSA-13 (mean)
72.1
SSA-13 (median)
70.7
5
The youth,
youth especially girls
girls, face
several disadvantages
‰
Youth are more likely than adults to work in the
informal sector,
sector and less likely to be wage
employed
‰
Young rural-urban migrants are less educated
than their urban counterparts, and more likely to
work in insecure jobs
‰
Women work more hours than men and are
more likely to engage in non-market activities
6
Youth are employed primarily in agriculture, in
which theyy account for 65% of total employment
p y
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
zm
b9
8
ug
a9
9
05
tza
00
stp
3
sle
0
7
mw
i9
mr
t0
0
md
g0
5
ke
n9
7
94
gin
gh
a9
8
05
eth
01
cm
r
8
civ
9
bd
i9
8
0
Percent of employed youth working in agriculture
7
Urban
Rural
mo
z9
6
mr
t0
0
Most youth in rural areas are underemployed
underemployed,
working in subsistence agriculture or as unpaid
family labor
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
05
tza
sle
03
ng
a9
6
97
mw
i
md
g0
5
gin
94
gh
a9
8
eth
05
cm
r0
1
0
Percentage of youth underemployed
8
Unskilled youth are more vulnerable
‰
They are:
¾ Less
L
lik
likely
l tto fifind
d work
k
¾ More
likely to be stuck in low quality jobs
¾ More
vulnerable to economic shocks
¾ More
vulnerable to early marriage and
parenthood
9
The problem
‰
Poverty traps firms and farms in low
low-scale
scale
production with low productivity,
explaining the number and types of jobs
created
10
The challenges
‰ Create
jobs to meet the growing supply of
young labor
l b fforce
‰ Minimize
the deleterious impacts of rapid
urban migration, while preparing rural
youth
th ffor more rewarding
di mobility
bilit
11
Policy
P
li responses: lessons
l
learned
‰
In many countries interventions have focused on
programs that are:
¾ Narrow
in scope
¾ Limited in time
¾ Biased toward urban areas
‰
Investing mainly in urban programs may fuel
migration, increasing unemployment and
underemployment
12
The knowledge foundation for policy
responses
‰ 70%
of the youth population is in rural areas
‰ In
the short term onlyy rural activities,, farm or
non-farm, can create occupations for most
new job seekers
‰ The
informal sector will continue to p
play
y a key
y
role as a means of job opportunities for a long
time to come Nontraditional farming
13
Policy response: need of an
integrated approach that
¾ Balance
the demand and supply sides of
the labor market in rural and urban areas
¾ Take
into account the youth mobility from
rural to urban areas, combined with
targeted interventions to help young people,
especially girls, overcome disadvantages in
entering and remaining in the labor market
14
Manage youth flows by delaying rural
urban migration to
¾ Mitigate
the growing urban youth
unemployment pressure
¾ Prepare rural youth for a more successful
migration
¾ Improve the well-being in already congested
cities
iti
15
Policy responses: Making agriculture an
attractive job option by
¾
Introducing commercialization and productivity
improvements infrastructure support and rural
improvements,
diversification
¾
Increasing investments in irrigation, water
resources management, and research and
extension
t
i
¾ Exploring
E l i
th
the iimmense potential
t ti l off th
the non-farm
f
sector for job and wealth creation
16
Policy responses: Making rural areas an
attractive living option by
¾ Increasing
rural public services
¾ Investing
g
in human capital
p
in rural areas to
fight poverty and to create opportunities for
people to migrate more successfully
17
Policy responses: Improve access to
education and skills by
¾
Synchronizing education and training policies with
other policies and programs for productivity
productivity, income
growth, and job creation
¾
Providing more and better access to disadvantaged
urban and rural youth, the less educated, and girls
¾
Developing second chance education programs
¾
Strengthening inter-ministerial coordination and
collaboration among different stakeholders
18
Policy responses: Encourage and support
entrepreneurship by
¾ Addressing
the barriers of doing business,
especially
p
y challenges
g faced by
y yyoung
gp
people
p
¾ Nurturing
and helping young entrepreneurs
develop their businesses
19
Policy responses: Improving labor market
conditions by
¾
Promoting active labor market policies and programs
in rapidly growing urban areas where demand for
skilled workers is on the rise
¾
Providing youth with vocational and labor market
g
information in order to facilitate them to select right
training programs
¾
Recognizing the need of appropriate regulations to
protect the youth, who are usually more vulnerable
and
d iinsecure, without
ith t iinhibiting
hibiti fifirms ffrom hi
hiring
i
20
Policy responses: Improve the investment
and macroeconomic environment by
¾ Bettering
investment climate to stimulate job
creation:
ti
youth
th are particularly
ti l l attractive
tt ti tto
employers in new and growing sectors
b
because
th
they are more adaptable
d t bl th
than older
ld
workers to new production methods
¾ Avoiding
g
economic collapses,
p
, which impose
p
a
particular burden on the youth
21
Policy responses: Support neglected
groups and issues by
¾ Supporting
young women entrepreneurs,
especially in rural areas
¾ Supporting
the informal economy to improve the
quality of employment and increase productivity
¾ Promoting
accessible and effective sexual and
reproductive health programs
¾ Empowering
women
22
Policy responses: Addressing youth in
violent and post conflict settings by
¾
Designing programs that meet the needs of youth in
conflict-affected countries
¾
Supporting essential services and educational
opportunities
t iti
¾
Promoting participation of youth in decision and
policy-making
¾
Transfering
T
f i prior
i skills
kill tto civilian
i ili use th
through
h
certification and vocational training of ex-combatants
with disabilities
23
Conclusions I
‰
Youth employment reflects economic,
geographic, demographic, and other conditions,
and
d th
the particularities
ti l iti off each
h country
t
‰
Achieving productive and secure employment
for young people entails long-term action
covering
i a wide
id range off economic
i and
d social
i l
policies
24
Conclusions II
‰
A successful policy framework requires
coherent and integrated responses,
recognizing especially the very large share of
rural youth, their demographic traits, and the
severe labor market constraints
‰
Programs need to be part of an integrated
development strategy for growth
growth, including jobjob
creation in both rural and urban areas, as well
as targeted interventions to help young people,
specially
i ll girls,
i l overcome the
th specific
ifi barriers
b i
they face in entering and remaining in the labor
market
25
The promise:
A peaceful and prosperous Africa
26
THANKS!
27