Experts mull pan-Arab answer to youth unemployment

2009-11-24

The Arab world should unite around a strategy to create jobs for young people, said participants at a recent Algiers conference.

By Walid Ramzi for Magharebia in Algiers – 24/11/09

[File] Algerian Labour Minister Tayeb Louh spoke at the 1st Arab Conference on Youth Employment held recently in Algiers.

Widespread youth unemployment and the challenges of globalisation must be met by joint Arab initiatives, concluded officials at a recent conference in Algiers.

Meeting these challenges requires a regional strategy, Algerian Labour and Social Security Minister Tayeb Louh said at the three-day 1st Arab Conference on Youth Employment which kicked off on November 15th.

The overall unemployment rate in Arab countries is now at 13.2%, with some 4 million young people entering the job market each year, Arab League Deputy Secretary General for Social Affairs Sima Bahout said in her opening address on Sunday.

Louh suggested the creation of a pan-Arab information network to manage employment data, which will be increasingly important as hordes of university graduates and educated women seek jobs in the near future.

Conference participants also wrestled with how best to achieve the goals set out in the period 2010-2020, which has been dubbed the "Decade of Arab Employment". The goals include halving unemployment and raising production 10%.

"This would require improving the level of technical and knowledge-based training and tailoring it to the needs of the labour market, in order to achieve economic growth," added Louh.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika called on "all stakeholders in the economic field", including NGOs, employers and trade unions, to help reduce levels of youth unemployment in Algeria and throughout the Arab world.

The secretary general of Algeria's National Youth Employment Support Agency (ANSEJ), which was created in 2008, said his organisation had been effective in providing jobs for new graduates.

"[A total of] 370,000 youths have been placed in jobs, while 314,000 more jobs will be created by the 110,000 new small enterprises registered by the agency," said Mohammed Tahir Shalal. "Among the start-ups, the fields of farming, construction and public works are represented."

According to Algeria's Ministry of Labour, 6 million jobs were created between 1999 and 2008, which reduced the unemployment rate from 30% in 1999 to 11.3% in 2008.

The director general of the Arab Labour Organisation, Ahmed Mohammed Luqman, praised Algeria's efforts to combat youth unemployment and urged other Arab nations to follow its example.

Luqman also said that the large number of expatriate workers in the Arab world is hindering economic progress throughout the region. He emphasised that Arab markets must continue to integrate youth into working world in order to benefit from their creative energy and innovative spirit.

Ali Melzi, a specialist in social trends, said the percentage of foreign workers "reaches about 80% in some Arab countries…and negatively affects local Arab manpower. Dealing with the problem of unemployment in the Arab world requires drawing up a strategy for the gradual reduction of foreign workers in some Arab countries."

Melzi also said the Arab world needs to "use oil resources to develop economic and social infrastructure and enhance the information networks in different fields".

"The resources that are available in the Arab region, which are mainly represented in the wealth of oil, water and agriculture, deserve to be exploited so that integration may be realised," said economist Selim Abdel Rahman.