Employment is a tough job for ME youth

Employment is a tough job for ME youth Sarah Young / 11 May 2013 The Middle East has the highest youth unemployment rate in the world, with females struggling the most to find a job thanks to a slow global recovery, according to a report from the International Labour Organisation. The International Labour Organisation released the Global Employment Trends for Youth 2013 report on Wednesday. The global youth unemployment rate, estimated at 12.6 per cent in 2013, is close to its crisis peak, with an estimated 73 million young people unemployed in 2013, the report said. This was expected to continue to rise to 12.7 per cent next year. Meanwhile, at 30.3 per cent, the Middle East has the highest youth unemployment rate of all regions, with more than one in four active young people unemployed. The youth unemployment rate was estimated at 28.3 per cent in 2012, and is expected to increase to 30 per cent in 2018.  Worst-hit areas are Jordan and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, where 29.9 per cent (2011) and 38.8 per cent (2010) of young people were unemployed. About 28 per cent of youth aged 15 – 24 were unemployed in Saudi Arabia last year. Along with North Africa, the Middle East was one of the two regions in which the total unemployment rate across all age groups exceeded 10 per cent in 2012. However, the report stated that, given the youthful population in these areas, as well as the high youth to adult ratio of unemployment at 3.8, youth bore “the brunt of the employment problem” — making up almost half of the unemployed. Females also come off worst, with almost half of the female population unemployed, at 43 per cent, compared to young males, of who about 25 per cent are unemployed. In Jordan less than 10 per cent of young women are working, compared to almost half of all young men. Meanwhile, in more advanced economies and East Asia, women are doing better than men. The report states the economic and social costs of unemployment, long-term unemployment, discouragement and widespread low-quality jobs for young people will continue to rise and undermine economies’ growth potential. Skills “mis-matches”, and a lack of quality jobs available especially in developing regions, where 90 per cent of the world’s youth live, continue to make the situation worse, according to the report. sarah@khaleejtimes.com Taylor Scott International