“HOW DOES UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG THE YOUTH AFFECT THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUB – SAHARA AFRICAN COUNTRIES” CASE STUDY

OF ECOWAS

PresentationBy TAMALE AbdulKharim

Key Definitions;

Youth, Unemployment rate, Youth-unemployed.• According UN, youth comprises the age-group between (15–24)

inclusive.

• According ILO, unemployment rate is defined as the proportion of the labor force that has not worked more than one hour during the short reference period and is actively looking for and is available for work.

• Thus, youth-unemployed are those people aged between 15–24 who haven’t worked but are available and actively seeking work.

Background• Sub–Sahara Africa has witnessed improved economic growth rates in

the last two decades. Annual GDP growth rates in the region averaged 5%. Growth in Western Africa was at 5.5%. • Despite the positive economic growth, challenge of high

unemployment rate is a common place in majority of African states.• According to the World Employment and Social Outlook–Trends 2015,

Sub-Saharan Africa, accounted for 3 quarters of the world’s vulnerable employment & by 2019, more than 212 million people will be out of work, up from the current 201 million.• ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said. “More than 61 million jobs have

been lost since the start of the global crisis in 2008 and our projections show that unemployment will continue to rise until the end of the decade. This means the jobs crisis is far from over so there is no place for complacency,”

Why the youth? • The global unemployment rate averages 12% & the

unemployed youth reaches about 75 million.• According to the Population Research Bureau, Africa has

the fastest growing & most youthful population in the world, over 40 % of its population is under 15yrs.• According to ILO(2013), 90% of the global youth

population lives in developing countries thus posing a ‘scarring’ challenge.• More young women and men in education but still

facing a difficult labour market transition

Global Youth Unemployment and Unemployment rates, 1995-2015

Youth Unemployment Rate (%) in African Countries

Youth unemployment rates by region, 1995 and 2005−14

Why ECOWAS?• The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is made up of 15

member countries located in the Western African region: Benin, Burkina Faso, cabo Verde, Côte D'ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone & Togo.

• Most of the African countries’ rates of youth unemployment go above the global average rate of 12%. For example, Sierra Leone a member of (ECOWAS) shows the highest rate of 60%.Rates of Youth Unemployment for selected ECOWAS MEMBERSCountry Youth unemployment rate (%) Unemployment rate (%) Nigeria 37.7 23.9Ghana 25 -Gambia 40 -Guinea Bissau 30  -

Mali 15.4  -

Sierra Leone 60  -

 2013    

Causes and effects of urban youth unemployment

Causes of youth unemployment in ECOWAS• Urban expansion (due to rural-urban migration), • Slow urban development, • slow economic growth (leading to low job creation), • mismatch between university or college education and

the labour market requirements

Key effects to the Youth

Social problems• Young people are forced by circumstances to indulge in

violence, drug abuse, prostitution and ‘gangism’.• In Nigeria, due to chronic youth unemployment “Kidnappings

are on the increase across the country & the unemployed youths view ‘the business’ as lucrative” • Nwokwu (2013), the intelligent young people who fail to

secure employment use technology to hack private bank accounts and effect money withdrawals or transfers. Such activities have led to set-backs in economic development in the country.

Cont. effects to the youth

Political Problems• High unemployment among the youth exposes them to

abuse by politicians who engage them in anti-social and underground political activities.• In Nigeria, Nwokwu (2013) states that “The

unemployed youths have become political thugs and blood-thirsty hooligans at the disposal of the politicians.”

Cont. effects to the youthEconomic Problems• The mismatch that exists between the training offered and the jobs that are

available on the job market due to inadequate coordination btn industry & educational institutions.

• Ghana crusader executive news quoted Ghana’s President & ECOWAS chairman John Mahama when addressing the 47th ECOWAS summit in Accra Said.

• And it is my hope that the ECOWAS commission takes up this issue, the challenge of job creation that faces every single one of us and the rest of the world.

• He continued: Africa, we have the fastest growing youth population; young people are coming out of school at every level of the educational system in the hope of finding jobs, the Youth bulge is both an advantage to our continent and also a danger if we are not able to handle it in terms of creating jobs for them.

effects to the youth unemployment to the economyincreased public spending• Youth unemployment increases public spending to the

economy; direct costs such as increased benefit payments, lost income-tax revenues and wasted capacity.

Policy responses: lessons learned

• In response to this challenge regional and continental governments have met severally to discuss solutions to youth unemployment in Africa.• On 18th February 2009 in Addis Ababa, African heads of state

declared 2009-2019 as the decade of youth development in Africa & resolved to advance youth dev’t & ensure increased investments in youth development programmes at national levels.• On 1st July 2011, the heads of state and government met in

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea to discuss the need to ‘accelerate youth empowerment for sustainable development’.• In July 2012, the African Development Bank facilitated a policy

dialogue on youth employment for the Southern African region.

Cont.Lesson learnt from ECOWAS.• In Ghana, the government created the National Youth

Service for its graduates and also the National Youth Employment Program (NYEP) to secure jobs for the unemployed. • The Nigerian government introduced Skill Acquisition

and enterprise development into the National Youth service corp, and a business plan competition for young people tagged ‘YOUWIN’ program. These efforts have not clearly resulted in significant reduction in youth unemployment.

Recommendations

• Africa in general & ECOWAS in particular requires an integrated holistic approach to addressing the youth unemployment . World Bank 2008 report advocates for a comprehensive model that caters for rural development, preparation of young people for the labor market and investments in agriculture.

• Creation of an enabling environment which promotes investment; provision of power, maintaining law and order, adequate security & resilient justice system which facilitates strong contracts and protect mutual trust.

Cont.

• Education curriculum should be revised to incorporate skills and enterprise development.

Designing a special program for low-skilled youth in vocational centres.

Provision of incentives to SMEs that promote student internships, graduate trainee programmes & community-based projects that create jobs for young people.

Investing in skills and quality job creation.• Agriculture must be made attractive as a viable source of

investment for young people. Transition from subsistence to commercialized farming. Adequate investment in rural education to boost rural

opportunities & reduce rural-urban migration.

conclusionThe challenge of youth unemployment is profound in the world over.• The ILO acts as an overall global manager of employment issues. ILO acts as a

reference organization for all countries in the world. Its strategies trends to be followed by all since they are experts in labor issues.

• Strategies to fight youth unemployment in Africa in general & ECOWAS in particular could include correction of the defective education system, promotion of skills development among the youth, encouraging the young people to be innovative, youth entrepreneurial programs, rural development to stem rural-urban migration, encouraging the private sector to employ young people, job creation and government support.

Jorge Saba Arbache. Senior Economist in the World Bank's Office of the Chief Economist, Africa Region. Says ‘‘the demographic transition is an opportunity for Africa to compete internationally. The main challenge is to employ the appropriate policies for the region to benefit from this unique opportunity’. It is my belief that individuals, organizations and government will make appropriate decisions to maximize this opportunity’’.