ESCWA 2012-2013 report: 20 million Arab citizens are unemployed & Arab women unemployment is among the highest in the world

According to ESCWA’s new report entitled “the survey of economic and social developments in the Arab region, 2012-2013”, women unemployment in the Arab region has reached 40% of the total unemployed population and 25% of the labour force despite their low economic participation rate.
The report launched last Tuesday, indicated that more than 20 million Arab citizens are unemployed according to the statistics of the ILO.  The report further reveals that the growth in GDP is not matched by a growth in employment in the Arab world and that the two indicators are totally dissociated, thus going against the basic principles of economics.  Another particular trend to the Arab region is the fact that 40% of manual labor force is active in the informal sector.  Those sectors which contributes most to the GDP, namely gas and oil production, only generate a small percentage of total employment, while the other sectors which contribute least to GDP, such as tourism, construction and other services, are the ones that absorb a large proportion of the employed population.  The report states that in Lebanon, the gap between formal and informal employment is very significant and reaches 30%
The ESCWA report also underlines that work productivity in Arab countries is low and is inversely proportional to the growth rate.  According to the report, this may be explained by the rapid increase in demand for employment at a time when the economy’s ability to generate employment is decreasing.  During the next decade, Arab countries will need to generate 1.5 million additional work opportunities every year in order to absorb the new comers into the job market as well as to control unemployment rates. The report finally underscores a too well know reality that the youth population in the Arab region is the primary victim of unemployment.
Source: Al-Akhbar 3 October 2013