UNECA - United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

04/06/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/06/2021 05:39

Labor market policies: ECA focuses on accelerating job creation in North Africa

Rabat, April 6, 2021 (ECA) - 'Active labor market policies: Good practices and recommendations for North Africa' will be at the heart of discussions at the upcoming ECA Office in North Africa webinar on Wednesday 7 April.

The meeting will provide representatives of the North African ministries of employment, private sector as well as eminent experts and researchers with an opportunity to discuss how to design and implement labor market policies so as to increase their impact, and share their successful experiences in this field.

Unemployment, and especially youth and female unemployment, has become a major challenge for North African countries (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia).

In addition to a structurally high unemployment rate (12.1% in 2019 according to the ILO), North Africa currently stands out with one of the lowest employment rates in Africa (40.1% % on average against 58.8% for the rest of the region in 2019) and one of the lowest labour market participation rates (45.7% against 60.7% of the global average).

Youths people and women are the main victims of this situation: In 2019, 30.2% of North Africa's unemployed were young people, against a 13.6% world average (ILO). At the same time, the female to male ratio when it came to participation in the labor force reached 31.8% in North Africa against a global average of 63.6% revealed women's limited participation of women in North African economies, depriving pension schemes of funding at a time when their funds, which are based on contributions from a reduced formal labor market, are under growing pressure from aging populations.

Event: Webinar on 'Active Labor Market Policies: Good Practices and Recommendations for North Africa'

Date and time: April 7, 2021, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. GMT + 1, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. EAT.

Connection details:https://zoom.us/webinar/register/6716176350117/WN_d6qPP2DXRj6j9pV-MLXs9g

Translation: Participants will be able to listen to the discussions inArabic, English and French.

Concept Note (English) (عربى)

Programme of work (English) (عربى)

Communication Team

Economic Commission for Africa

Office for North Africa

Tel: +212 (0) 673 734 462

Email: [email protected]