Africa’s job market fails to provide decent work for youth, think tank says

The continent’s youth could be a huge asset but what they need is secure, well-paid work, according to the African Center for Economic Transformation. Africa’s young population is often touted as one of the continent’s greatest economic assets, but the employment market is failing to provide them with good, life-sustaining jobs, the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) said. The Accra-based think tank, in its latest report, said fewer than one in five of the continent’s working young people currently have health coverage or social security, and just over a quarter received paid holiday leave. Around a third of young Africans are employed in informal roles in the agricultural sector. Small- to medium-sized domestic firms, particularly in the technology, pharmaceuticals, and construction sectors, offered stronger job growth and better employment conditions than larger businesses, ACET said. More attention needs to be paid to these “sectors so that they can absorb more young people, and at the same time, [the benefits] don’t get diluted,” ACET’s Mona Iddrisu told Semafor.