Youth unemployment rises amidst post-“Arab Spring” chaos

For millions of young people in the Middle East and North Africa, jobs remain out of reach and unemployment has only worsened in the post-“Arab Spring” turmoil. Regional youth unemployment stands now at 29.5%, one of the world’s highest rates, and represent an increase by 2% in more than one decade according to the International Labor Organization. Starting next Thursday, hundreds of political and business leaders from 58 countries came together for the regional conference of the World Economic Forum where Mideast youth unemployment will be on the top of the agenda. This problem has been the focus of debates regional decision makers for years, but has taken on greater urgency with the growing appeal of Islamist militants and radicalized ideas among desperate young people. Widespread joblessness creates fertile ground for recruitment by extremists, said Samir Murad, a former Jordanian labor minister. There is a high risk that if the unemployed “do not find a decent living, they will look for the alternatives, and the alternative is the so-called Islamic State,” he said. (Daily Star, 22 May 2015)