1. Labour Markets & Youth Employment in the Arab States
Prepared by Tariq A. Haq
Employment Development and Strategies Officer
ILO – Regional Office for Arab States, Beirut
Presented by Joop Theunissen
UNDP/UNDESA Sub-Regional Workshop
Youth Policies & Strategies in the context of the MDGs
Rabat, Morocco, 6-8 July 2005

2. Outline Youth employment trends and indicators
Global
Regional
Policy responses to youth employment challenge

3. Youth-specific difficulties in transition from education to employment
Lack of employment experience of youth
“Insider-outsider” effects related to labour market
Wage and job expectations of graduates: mismatch between aspirations & labour market realities
Quality & relevance of education to labour market
Constraints on self-employment & entrepreneurship development
Lack of organization and voice among young women and men (where are young members of workers and employers associations?)

4. Youth statistics-- cross-country differences I
Activity rates of:
youth (15 – 24) declined from 70% in 1950 to 59% in 2000
adults (25-64) increased from 73% to 79%
Growing participation of youth in education
Activity rates of young men much higher than those of young females but converging (in 1950 the gender gap was 29.2 percent points, in percent points)

5. Youth statistics – cross-country differences II
Activity rates of young people differ by region – the lowest in Europe, followed by Latin America and Northern America, the highest in Asia, Africa and Oceania
Unemployment rates of youth consistently higher than the adult unemployment rates, in most countries between 2 and 4 times
In most countries in the world, young women have higher unemployment rates than young men

6. Country
Year
Youth UR in %
Youth UR to adult UR
Ratio of youth U in total U %
Algeria
1992
n.a.
65.7
Bahrain
2000
60.7
Egypt
1999
20.4
4.9
59.5
Morocco
15.4
1.6
38.2
UAE
47.0
West Bank and Gaza
2001
35.1
Yemen
48.4

7. Arab Regional Economic Context
Variable, but generally sluggish economic growth
Labour force growth is higher than both GDP growth & jobs created
Unemployment is acute amongst youth, especially young women
Creeping poverty across the region even beyond the countries affected by conflict
Nationalization of workforces in the Gulf with implications for young migrant workers in region
Increased restrictions on labour markets in EU

8. High Unemployment for Arab youth
Around 12.5 million unemployed, coupled with high underemployment
Highest (and increasing) unemployment rates in the world, especially for youth
2.5 million new youth entrants to the labour market annually, expected to rise to 3 million during – need to create jobs for these new entrants just to maintain current unemployment levels
Youth unemployment rates are much higher than adult unemployment rates, averaging 25.6 % in 2003 (cf. 21.0% in Sub-Saharan Africa)

9. Gender Gap in Employment
Average female unemployment rate of 16.5 % was 5.9 % points higher than the male rate of 10.6 % in 2003
Unemployment for young women in Arab countries ranges from 13 % in Bahrain to almost 39 % in Algeria
Unemployed women are mainly:
young new labour force entrants (with primary & secondary education)
laid off workers following restructuring and privatization - in Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt

10. A comprehensive employment policy that is inclusive of youth
Such policy must be based on reliable economic and labour market analysis identifying potentials and challenges for young people (requires LMIS)
Policy and programs need to be better tailored toward:
enhancing employability
promoting employment
improving social security of young people
Partnerships!

11. Targeted Active Labour Market Policies for Young Women & Men
Well functioning employment services
Re-skilling of work force:
bridging the skills gap to match labour supply with demand
linking training programs with employment
Entrepreneurship training in basic business skills, especially for young women and men
Employment subsidies for disadvantaged youth (school drop outs, vulnerable youth, youth with disabilities, etc.)

12. Young Migrant Workers
Admitting the reality of migration in receiving countries: defining a clear and realistic strategy and policy for migration, shifting emphasis from quantity to quality of expatriates
Initiating and developing a consultative process between sending and receiving countries, based on mutual respect and benefit
More active role for workers’ organizations to defend migrant workers’ rights
Public and media awareness on migrant workers’ rights

13. THANK YOU! FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS PRESENTATION CONTACT
Tariq A. Haq
Employment Development and Strategies Officer
ILO – Regional Office for Arab States, Beirut