The Data Informing Job Creation Across Africa
May 1, 2024 - Numbers.
I’ve always been skeptical of numbers as too often I’ve seen them massaged and manipulated to tell only one side of a story or a partial or misleading narrative. Nevertheless…I am going to use a few of them!
Approximately 12 million young individuals join the workforce in Africa's 54 countries annually. However, the formal sector** only generates about 1 million new jobs each year. This prompts the question: How can we foster job creation?
And yes, I deliberately used "we" for two reasons:
Firstly, by 2030, the global workforce is expected to face a shortage of 85 million workers. It stands to reason that a portion of these workers could—and perhaps should—come from Africa.
Secondly, extensive migration occurs because individuals struggle to secure employment (and sometimes safety) in their home countries. Receiving nations may not always welcome the large influx of migrants. By generating job opportunities "back home," fewer individuals might feel compelled to migrate.
How Do We Create More Jobs?
Data is helpful as accurate and robust data can inform policies and strategies.
I recently read about the Africa Youth Employment Clock – a tool to monitor youth job growth and forecast youth employment trends until 2030 so governments, academia, employers, and development organizations can create and act on evidence-based policy interventions and programs.
Aligned with the African Union's guidelines, the Africa Youth Employment Clock defines youth as individuals aged 15 to 35. Given variations in how countries define youth, users can filter data by specific age brackets.
Below you see an example from this tool. Data can be continent-wide and/or on a country basis. Additionally, the data can be segmented by year, labor force participation, gender, educational achievements, and industry. For further insights, users can access information on job formalization, urban or rural residency, and employment poverty levels.
National-level data is available for all 54 African countries. Moreover, users can access subnational data for Kenya and Rwanda. In the near future, subnational data for additional countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Senegal, and Ethiopia, will also be made accessible.
Thank you World Data Lab (a data enterprise producing estimates for spending and demography) and Mastercard Foundation for your collaboration in creating a tool that I think more parts of the world would benefit from…like Central and South America and the islands of the Caribbean?!
Informing Policies and Strategies for Job Creation
With accurate data, trends can be identified that then can help governments, businesses and academia develop policies and programs around job creation.
For example, some of the trends the Africa Youth Employment Clock identifies include:
a decline in agricultural employment across all countries on the continent
a shift in employment patterns towards industry and services
at a country level, there’s been a large increase in job opportunities in the construction sector in Kenya
When governments observe trends in young people's employment across industries, they can collaborate with educational institutions and TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) providers. This collaboration can tailor education and skills training programs to better equip young people for available job opportunities.
** Informal vs Formal Employment
According to the ILO and UNDP, approx. 85% of employment across Africa is informal, or approx. 71% if you exclude agriculture.
In the past informal workers tended to be either neglected or viewed as a threat to formal economies and thus needed to be eliminated.
Today, people and politicians are realizing the significant contribution the informal sector makes to GDP, income, and employment as well as the positive and inextricably linked impacts it has on the formal economy.
I would add that the informal economy also reflects a very cultural way of working. Africans have long been self-sufficient, resilient and creative in meeting their needs within their families and communities – be that through growing their own food, bartering for goods and services, and sharing with one another as they have need.
This doesn’t take away from the precariousness of the informal economy and the difficulties they face surviving through pandemics, climate-related natural disasters and/or unrest in their countries. More can and should be done to provide economic and healthcare-related safety nets, pathways to the formal sector for those who so desire, as well as opportunities for educational pursuits and investment to grow their (informal sector) careers.
I for one am watching this space!
If you’d like to know more about the topics I discuss above or how you and your company can join the growth story of the African continent, please reach out to me via DrDeanneDeVries@icloud.net or on LinkedIn.
We’ll match your vision with my local understanding to provide the insights, analysis, connections, and operational awareness you need to build a sustainable company, grow your bottom line, and improve the communities in which you work.