Africa struggles with unemployment
A new report from the International Labour Organization has found that more than 10 percent of Africans are unemployed, as much as double that for those under 25. And that's creating social problems as well as economic ones, Alisa Roth reports.
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MARK AUSTIN THOMAS: African officials meet in Addis Ababa this week. One item on the agenda is a new report which looks at the continent’s problem of severe unemployment. Alisa Roth has the story.
ALISA ROTH: More than 10 percent of Africans are unemployed. For young workers, the situation’s even worse: 20 percent of those under 25 don’t have a job.
Princeton Lyman of the Council on Foreign Relations says Africa needs to get more involved in the global economy.
PRINCETON LYMAN: That means building up their trade capacity, improving the education levels and improving the infrastructure.
But unemployment isn’t just an economic concern. The Eurasia Group’s Philippe de Pontet says it’s a security issue as well.
PHILIPPE DE PONTET: A very high percentage of youthful males who don’t have productive employment and very few prospects of such employment, that’s gonna build up a lot of frustration. That’s gonna, in some cases, that will lead to social strife.
The report recommends African countries need to build up economic sectors with more employment opportunities — areas like manufacturing and service industries.
In New York, I’m Alisa Roth for Marketplace.