Young women and men graduate in thousands but cannot be absorbed by the national job market || Newspapers (Arabic)

L’Orient le Jour newspaper published a report on young women and men and the job market.  The newspaper interviewed the head of the studies and economic research department of Byblos Bank, Nassib Ghobril, who indicated that the private and public universities in Lebanon yearly graduate thousands of young people in various disciplines whilst the local job market is unable to absorb them.  Ghobril noted that Lebanon scores one of the highest emigration rate of university degree holders in the region.

This serious statement was further validated by the Lebanese Centre for Policy Studies, LCPS, produced last October which indicated that the job market in Lebanon does not benefit from the available high qualification but rather depend on poor salaries and low productivity.  LCPS links this finding to uncertainties in the macroeconomic context, corruption, poor public policy, and insufficient infrastructure.  Another study undertaken by the ILO noted that the unemployment rate amongst young women and men in Lebanon has reached 23.2% in 2010 which is the ninth highest rate in the Arab region.

Finally, Ghobril noted that the problem in the local job market is due to several factors namely the fact that young graduates are poorly prepared to meet the requirements of the job market with a growing mismatch between demand and supply.  LCPS indicated for its part that economic institutions are in need of human resources with leadership and advanced communication skills.

Source: L'Orient Le Jour 14 March 2013